Terahertz spin-wave waveguides and optical magnonics in one-dimensional NiO nanorods

The two-magnon (2M) spin waves with a magnon frequency of 43 THz, generated by a polarized laser, were first observed in one-dimensional (1D) NiO nanorods. The 1D NiO nanorods of ∼700 nm length, which have perfectly in-plane antiferromagnetic spins lying on the (200) and (100) faces, are the smallest spin-wave waveguides. Due to the magneto-optical Faraday effect (MOFE), the significant change in the Faraday intensity can show the 2M information in the NiO nanorods. There are only two 2M-on and 2M-off states at various applied alternating-current magnetic fields and laser-incident angles, which make the 1D NiO nanorods excellent optical nanomagnonics.