Backscattering Immunity of Dipole-Exchange Magnetostatic Surface Spin Waves

Three-dimensional spin-wave dynamics, localization and interference in a synthetic antiferromagnet

Spin waves are collective perturbations in the orientation of the magnetic moments in magnetically ordered materials. Their rich phenomenology is intrinsically three-dimensional; however, the three-dimensional imaging of spin waves has so far not been possible. Here, we image the three-dimensional dynamics of spin waves excited in a synthetic antiferromagnet, with nanoscale spatial resolution and sub-ns temporal resolution, using time-resolved magnetic laminography. In this way, we map the distribution of the spin-wave modes throughout the volume of the structure, revealing unexpected depth-dependent profiles originating from the interlayer dipolar interaction. We experimentally demonstrate the existence of complex three-dimensional interference patterns and analyze them via micromagnetic modelling. We find that these patterns are generated by the superposition of spin waves with non-uniform amplitude profiles, and that their features can be controlled by tuning the composition and structure of the magnetic system. Our results open unforeseen possibilities for the study and manipulation of complex spin-wave modes within nanostructures and magnonic devices.

Identifying and Constructing Complex Magnon Band Topology

Magnetically ordered materials tend to support bands of coherent propagating spin wave, or magnon, excitations. Topologically protected surface states of magnons offer a new path toward coherent spin transport for spintronics applications. In this work we explore the variety of topological magnon band structures and provide insight into how to efficiently identify topological magnon bands in materials. We do this by adapting the topological quantum chemistry approach that has used constraints imposed by time reversal and crystalline symmetries to enumerate a large class of topological electronic bands. We show how to identify physically relevant models of gapped magnon band topology by using so-called decomposable elementary band representations, and in turn discuss how to use symmetry data to infer the presence of exotic symmetry enforced nodal topology.

Filtering and Imaging of Frequency-Degenerate Spin Waves Using Nanopositioning of a Single-Spin Sensor

Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) magnetometry is a new technique for imaging spin waves in magnetic materials. It detects spin waves by their microwave magnetic stray fields, which decay evanescently on the scale of the spin-wavelength. Here, we use nanoscale control of a single-NV sensor as a wavelength filter to characterize frequency-degenerate spin waves excited by a microstrip in a thin-film magnetic insulator. With the NV probe in contact with the magnet, we observe an incoherent mixture of thermal and microwave-driven spin waves. By retracting the tip, we progressively suppress the small-wavelength modes until a single coherent mode emerges from the mixture. In-contact scans at low drive power surprisingly show occupation of the entire isofrequency contour of the two-dimensional spin-wave dispersion despite our one-dimensional microstrip geometry. Our distance-tunable filter sheds light on the spin-wave band occupation under microwave excitation and opens opportunities for imaging magnon condensates and other coherent spin-wave modes.

Interface modes in planar one-dimensional magnonic crystals

We present the concept of Zak phase for spin waves in planar magnonic crystals and discuss the existence condition of interface modes localized on the boundary between two magnonic crystals with centrosymmetric unit cells. Using the symmetry criterion and analyzing the logarithmic derivative of the Bloch function, we study the interface modes and demonstrate the bulk-to-edge correspondence. Our theoretical results are verified numerically and extended to the case in which one of the magnonic crystals has a non-centrosymmetric unit cells. We show that by shifting the unit cell, the interface modes can traverse between the band gap edges. Our work also investigate the role of the dipolar interaction, by comparison the systems both with exchange interaction only and combined dipolar-exchange interactions.

Theory of drift-enabled control in nonlocal magnon transport

Electrically injected and detected nonlocal magnon transport has emerged as a versatile method for transporting spin as well as probing the spin excitations in a magnetic insulator. We examine the role of drift currents in this phenomenon as a method for controlling the magnon propagation length. Formulating a phenomenological description, we identify the essential requirements for existence of magnon drift. Guided by this insight, we examine magnetic field gradient, asymmetric contribution to dispersion, and temperature gradient as three representative mechanisms underlying a finite magnon drift velocity, finding temperature gradient to be particularly effective.

A magnon scattering platform

This work describes a general scattering platform that uses magnons to explore the underlying properties of target materials. In this work we show how both phase and amplitude of magnons can be imaged using a nitrogen vacancy center magnetometer and how the scattered pattern of waves can be used to infer geometric and magnetic properties of a target material. To demonstrate this new experimental methodology we use a permalloy disk as our target and show that even with such a simple target unexpected behavior is observed. In addition, we provide a theoretical framework to reconstruct the properties of the target.

Scattering experiments have revolutionized our understanding of nature. Examples include the discovery of the nucleus [R. G. Newton, Scattering Theory of Waves and Particles (1982)], crystallography [U. Pietsch, V. Holý, T. Baumback, High-Resolution X-Ray Scattering (2004)], and the discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA [J. D. Watson, F. H. C. Crick, Nature 171, 737–738]. Scattering techniques differ by the type of particles used, the interaction these particles have with target materials, and the range of wavelengths used. Here, we demonstrate a two-dimensional table-top scattering platform for exploring magnetic properties of materials on mesoscopic length scales. Long-lived, coherent magnonic excitations are generated in a thin film of yttrium iron garnet and scattered off a magnetic target deposited on its surface. The scattered waves are then recorded using a scanning nitrogen vacancy center magnetometer that allows subwavelength imaging and operation under conditions ranging from cryogenic to ambient environment. While most scattering platforms measure only the intensity of the scattered waves, our imaging method allows for spatial determination of both amplitude and phase of the scattered waves, thereby allowing for a systematic reconstruction of the target scattering potential. Our experimental results are consistent with theoretical predictions for such a geometry and reveal several unusual features of the magnetic response of the target, including suppression near the target edges and a gradient in the direction perpendicular to the direction of surface wave propagation. Our results establish magnon scattering experiments as a platform for studying correlated many-body systems.

Inverse-design magnonic devices

The field of magnonics offers a new type of low-power information processing, in which magnons, the quanta of spin waves, carry and process data instead of electrons. Many magnonic devices were demonstrated recently, but the development of each of them requires specialized investigations and, usually, one device design is suitable for one function only. Here, we introduce the method of inverse-design magnonics, in which any functionality can be specified first, and a feedback-based computational algorithm is used to obtain the device design. We validate this method using the means of micromagnetic simulations. Our proof-of-concept prototype is based on a rectangular ferromagnetic area that can be patterned using square-shaped voids. To demonstrate the universality of this approach, we explore linear, nonlinear and nonreciprocal magnonic functionalities and use the same algorithm to create a magnonic (de-)multiplexer, a nonlinear switch and a circulator. Thus, inverse-design magnonics can be used to develop highly efficient rf applications as well as Boolean and neuromorphic computing building blocks.

Nanoscale magnonic Fabry-Pérot resonator for low-loss spin-wave manipulation

Active control of propagating spin waves on the nanoscale is essential for beyond-CMOS magnonic computing. Here, we experimentally demonstrate reconfigurable spin-wave transport in a hybrid YIG-based material structure that operates as a Fabry-Pérot nanoresonator. The magnonic resonator is formed by a local frequency downshift of the spin-wave dispersion relation in a continuous YIG film caused by dynamic dipolar coupling to a ferromagnetic metal nanostripe. Drastic downscaling of the spin-wave wavelength within the bilayer region enables programmable control of propagating spin waves on a length scale that is only a fraction of their wavelength. Depending on the stripe width, the device structure offers full nonreciprocity, tunable spin-wave filtering, and nearly zero transmission loss at allowed frequencies. Our results provide a practical route for the implementation of low-loss YIG-based magnonic devices with controllable transport properties.

Chiral Emission of Exchange Spin Waves by Magnetic Skyrmions

Spin waves or their quanta magnons raise the prospect to act as information carriers in the absence of Joule heating. The challenge to excite spin waves with nanoscale wavelengths free of nanolithography becomes a critical bottleneck for the application of nanomagnonics. Magnetic skyrmions are chiral magnetic textures at the nanoscale. In this work, short-wavelength exchange spin waves are demonstrated to be chirally emitted in a low damping magnetic insulating thin film by magnetic skyrmions. The spin-wave chirality originates from the chiral spin pumping effect and is determined by the cross product of the magnetization orientation and the film normal direction. The Halbach effect explains the enhancement or attenuation of the spin-wave amplitude with a reversed sign of the Dyzaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. Controllable spin-wave propagation is demonstrated by rotating a moderate applied field. Our findings are key for building compact low-power nanomagnonic devices based on intrinsic nanoscale magnetic textures.

Magnetic resonance imaging of spin-wave transport and interference in a magnetic insulator

Spin waves-the elementary excitations of magnetic materials-are prime candidate signal carriers for low-dissipation information processing. Being able to image coherent spin-wave transport is crucial for developing interference-based spin-wave devices. We introduce magnetic resonance imaging of the microwave magnetic stray fields that are generated by spin waves as a new approach for imaging coherent spin-wave transport. We realize this approach using a dense layer of electronic sensor spins in a diamond chip, which combines the ability to detect small magnetic fields with a sensitivity to their polarization. Focusing on a thin-film magnetic insulator, we quantify spin-wave amplitudes, visualize spin-wave dispersion and interference, and demonstrate time-domain measurements of spin-wave packets. We theoretically explain the observed anisotropic spin-wave patterns in terms of chiral spin-wave excitation and stray-field coupling to the sensor spins. Our results pave the way for probing spin waves in atomically thin magnets, even when embedded between opaque materials.

Optically Inspired Nanomagnonics with Nonreciprocal Spin Waves in Synthetic Antiferromagnets

Integrated optically inspired wave-based processing is envisioned to outperform digital architectures in specific tasks, such as image processing and speech recognition. In this view, spin waves represent a promising route due to their nanoscale wavelength in the gigahertz frequency range and rich phenomenology. Here, a versatile, optically inspired platform using spin waves is realized, demonstrating the wavefront engineering, focusing, and robust interference of spin waves with nanoscale wavelength. In particular, magnonic nanoantennas based on tailored spin textures are used for launching spatially shaped coherent wavefronts, diffraction-limited spin-wave beams, and generating robust multi-beam interference patterns, which spatially extend for several times the spin-wave wavelength. Furthermore, it is shown that intriguing features, such as resilience to back reflection, naturally arise from the spin-wave nonreciprocity in synthetic antiferromagnets, preserving the high quality of the interference patterns from spurious counterpropagating modes. This work represents a fundamental step toward the realization of nanoscale optically inspired devices based on spin waves.

Topological Characterization of Classical Waves: The Topological Origin of Magnetostatic Surface Spin Waves

We propose a topological characterization of Hamiltonians describing classical waves. Applying it to the magnetostatic surface spin waves that are important in spintronics applications, we settle the speculation over their topological origin. For a class of classical systems that includes spin waves driven by dipole-dipole interactions, we show that the topology is characterized by vortex lines in the Brillouin zone in such a way that the symplectic structure of Hamiltonian mechanics plays an essential role. We define winding numbers around these vortex lines and identify them to be the bulk topological invariants for a class of semimetals. Exploiting the bulk-edge correspondence appropriately reformulated for these classical waves, we predict that surface modes appear but not in a gap of the bulk frequency spectrum. This feature, consistent with the magnetostatic surface spin waves, indicates a broader realm of topological phases of matter beyond spectrally gapped ones.