Spin independent magnetoresistance effects in vertical graphene spin valves

Abstract Vertical spin valve device configuration with multilayer graphene (MLG) as spacer has drawn significant attention in recent years because of its potential to produce large magnetoresistance (MR) effect due to perfect spin filtering. However, demonstration of this effect has remained elusive so far. Here we consider MLG vertical spin valve structures and show that they exhibit spin independent MR effects, which are orders of magnitude stronger than the spin dependent effects reported to date. These effects manifest within a moderate field range of 10 kG and depend on various factors such as hybridization near the top graphene surface, doping, defects and interlayer coupling. These effects highlight the rich spectrum of physical phenomena that manifest in such systems, which could be exploited in low to moderate magnetic field sensing applications.