The Hanle effect describes suppression of spin polarization due to precession in a magnetic field. This is a standard spintronics tool and it gives access to the spin lifetime of samples in which spins are generated homogeneously. We examine the Hanle effect when spins are generated at a boundary of a diffusive sample by the extrinsic spin Hall effect. We show that the Hanle curve is spatially dependent and that the "apparent" spin lifetime, given by its inverse half-width, is shorter near the boundary even if the spin relaxation rate is homogenous.
Cite
@article{arxiv.0707.3762,
title = {Hanle Effect near Boundaries},
author = {Hans-Andreas Engel},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0707.3762},
year = {2008}
}