Nanostructured magnonic crystals with size-tunable bandgaps

Area of Science:

• Condensed Matter Physics
• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Magnonic crystals are magnetic analogues of photonic crystals, offering shorter wavelengths for magnons compared to photons.
• These properties make them promising for nanoscale microwave devices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To fabricate and characterize novel bicomponent magnonic crystals.
• To investigate the tunability of their frequency bandgaps.
• To explore their potential for information-carrying spin wave devices.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of periodic arrays of alternating cobalt and permalloy stripes using electron beam lithography.
• Characterization using Brillouin light scattering.
• Analysis through computer modeling.

Main Results:

• Successfully fabricated bicomponent magnonic crystals with tunable frequency bandgaps.
• Demonstrated a wide tunability of the first frequency bandgap (1.4-2.6 GHz) based on structural dimensions.
• Observed that bandgap width and center frequency are dependent on the widths of cobalt and permalloy stripes.

Conclusions:

• The structural tunability of these magnonic crystals allows for precise control over spin wave propagation.
• This research provides valuable insights for designing magnonic crystals for applications in the field of magnonics.