In recent years, bottom-up synthesis procedures have achieved significant advancements in atomically-controlled growth of several-nanometer-long graphene nanoribbons with armchair-shaped edges (AGNRs). This greatly encourages us to explore the potential of such well-defined AGNRs in electronics and spintronics. Here, we propose an AGNR based spin valve architecture that induces a large magnetoresistance up to 900%. We find that, when an AGNR is connected perpendicularly to zigzag-shaped edges, the AGNR allows for long-range extension of the otherwise localized edge state. The huge magnetoresistance is a direct consequence of the coupling of two such extended states from both ends of the AGNR, which forms a perfect transmission channel. By tuning the coupling between these two spin-polarized states with a magnetic field, the channel can be destroyed, leading to an abrupt drop in electron transmission.
@article{arxiv.1410.3567,
title = {Large magnetoresistance from long-range interface coupling in armchair graphene nanoribbon junctions},
author = {Suchun Li and Young-Woo Son and Su Ying Quek},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1410.3567},
year = {2015}
}