Effect of in situ deposition of Mg adatoms on spin relaxation in graphene

We have systematically introduced charged impurity scatterers in the form of Mg adsorbates to exfoliated single-layer graphene and observe little variation of the spin relaxation times despite pronounced changes in the charge transport behavior. All measurements are performed on nonlocal graphene tunneling spin valves exposed in situ to Mg adatoms, thus systematically introducing atomic-scale charged impurity scattering. While charge transport properties exhibit decreased mobility and decreased momentum scattering times, the observed spin lifetimes are not significantly affected, indicating that charged impurity scattering is inconsequential in the present regime of spin relaxation times ($\ensuremath{\sim}$1 ns).