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 λsf=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.