Electrical detection of spin accumulation and spin precession at room temperature in metallic spin valves

We have fabricated a multiterminal lateral mesoscopic metallic spin valve demonstrating spin precession at room temperature (RT), using tunnel barriers in combination with metallic ferromagnetic electrodes as a spin injector and detector. The observed modulation of the output signal due to the spin precession is discussed and explained in terms of a time-of-flight experiment of electrons in a diffusive conductor. The obtained spin relaxation length lambda(sf)=500 nm in an aluminum strip will make detailed studies of spin dependent transport phenomena possible and allow one to explore the possibilities of the electron spin for-new electronic applications at RT. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.1532753].