Single shot acquisition of spatially resolved spin wave dispersion relations using X-ray microscopy

Area of Science:

• Condensed Matter Physics
• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Characterizing magnonic materials requires understanding their frequency response, including dispersion relations and spin wave wavelengths.
• Traditional methods for these measurements are often challenging and time-consuming.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a faster and more comprehensive method for characterizing magnonic materials.
• To enable simultaneous measurement of phase, amplitude, and k-space information for spin waves.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing a modified Sinc pulse, combining cosine and Sinc functions, for broadband spin wave excitation.
• Employing time-resolved scanning transmission X-ray microscopy for direct real-space imaging of excited spin waves.
• Demonstrating the technique on an ultra-thin yttrium-iron-garnet film.

Main Results:

• Achieved broadband spin wave excitation with uniform power levels.
• Successfully imaged all excited spin waves in real space.
• Obtained simultaneous phase, amplitude, and k-space information from a single measurement.

Conclusions:

• The modified Sinc pulse excitation combined with time-resolved X-ray microscopy offers a fast and thorough approach to characterize magnonic materials.
• This method provides complete access to the full dispersion relation and spatial maps of spin wave modes.
• Enables nanoscale characterization in both real and reciprocal space, advancing the understanding of magnonic materials.