Origin of the magnetic field enhancement of the spin signal in metallic nonlocal spin transport devices

The nonlocal spin valve (NLSV) enables unambiguous study of spin transport, owing to its ability to isolate pure spin currents. A key principle of NLSV operation is that the “spin signal” is invariant under application of in-plane magnetic fields (above the ferromagnetic contact saturation field). Yet, for certain ferromagnet/normal metal pairings in NLSVs, an unexpected field enhancement of the spin signal occurs, presenting a challenge that has, thus far, been difficult to resolve with existing models. By correlating the extracted spin transport parameters with material, temperature, and field dependencies, in this work we identify field quenching of magnetic impurity scattering as the origin of this effect, confirmed by excellent agreement between our results and field-dependent Kondo theory. In addition to addressing this long-standing mystery, our findings highlight a potential systematic underestimation of spin transport parameters. By identifying signature field and temperature dependencies, we provide here a relatively simple means to isolate and quantify this additional relaxation mechanism.