Direct Determination of Spin-Splitting Energy in Magnetic Graphene by Landau Fan Shifts

Abstract

Spin-polarized two-dimensional materials with large and tunable spin-splitting energy promise the field of 2D spintronics. While graphene has been a canonical 2D material, its spin properties and tunability are limited. Here, we demonstrate the emergence of robust spin-polarization in graphene with large and tunable spin-splitting energy of up to 132 meV at zero applied magnetic fields. The spin polarization is induced through a magnetic exchange interaction between graphene and the underlying ferrimagnetic oxide insulating layer, Tm3Fe5O12, as confirmed by its X-ray magnetic circular dichroism. The spin-splitting energies are directly measured and visualized by the shift in their landau fan diagram mapped by analyzing the measured subnikov-de-Haas oscillations as a function of applied electric fields, showing consistent fit with our first-principles and machine learning calculations. Further, the observed spin-splitting energies can be tuned over a broad range between 98 and 166 meV by cooling fields. Our methods and results are applicable to other two-dimensional (magnetic) materials and heterostructures, and offer great potential for developing next-generation spin logic and memory devices.