We performed non-local electrical measurements of a series of Py/Cu lateral spin valve devices with different Cu thicknesses. We show that both the spin diffusion length of Cu and the apparent spin polarization of Py increase with Cu thickness. By fi
tting the results to a modified spin-diffusion model, we show that the spin diffusion length of Cu is dominated by spin-flip scattering at the surface. In addition, the dependence of spin polarization of Py on Cu thickness is due to a strong spin-flip scattering at the Py/Cu interface.
The spin injection and accumulation in metallic lateral spin valves with transparent interfaces is studied using d.c. injection current. Unlike a.c.-based techniques, this allows investigating the effects of the direction and magnitude of the injecte
d current. We find that the spin accumulation is reversed by changing the direction of the injected current, whereas its magnitude does not change. The injection mechanism for both current directions is thus perfectly symmetric, leading to the same spin injection efficiency for both spin types. This result is accounted for by a spin-dependent diffusion model. Joule heating increases considerably the local temperature in the spin valves when high current densities are injected ($sim$80--105 K for 1--2$times10^{7}$A cm$^{-2}$), strongly affecting the spin accumulation.
