Non-Reciprocal 3D Architectures for Magnonic Functionalities – MagFunc

Non-reciprocal microwave components such as circulators, isolators, and phase shifters are invaluable tools in both today’s communication systems, and future quantum computers. The ability to inhibit signal flow in one direction while allowing it in the reverse direction plays a crucial role for either protecting microwave devices from reflections, isolating the transmitter from the receiver in radar architecture, or shielding qubits from its environment. However, these non-reciprocal functionalities, which cannot be readily obtained by electric field-based devices, rely almost entirely on the gyrotropic nature the magnetization dynamics, and the current magnetic field-based components in-use tend to be relatively large, off-chip, limited in number, and costly to assemble. These issues have recently triggered an intensive effort from various fields of research for the development of miniaturized non-reciprocal technologies compatible with integrated circuit technology (ICT).
Among all the potential solutions for this challenge, the emerging field of magnonics, which focuses on the implementation of elementary magnetic excitations called spin waves -or their quanta magnon- for unconventional electronic applications, is well engaged in the hunt with several recent demonstrations of non-reciprocal properties. Furthermore, magnonics is a fast growing field of research with promising potentialities for novel computing and data processing approaches, improved power consumption performances, and the downscaling of broadband microwave analog devices with feature-size designs integrable in ICT. Our project contributes directly to the miniaturization of non-reciprocal microwave devices, and focuses specifically in the investigation of novel non-reciprocal magnon phenomena in 3D architectures at the nanoscale.
We plan to adopt a complete and multidisciplinary approach encompassing preliminary micromagnetic simulations combined with analytical models, in order to optimise devices geometries for the targeted phenomena. The elected geometries will then be fabricated using state of the art nano-patterning method in clean room environment, and finally be measured via different complementary experimental techniques such as Brillouin light scattering and propagating spin wave spectroscopy.
The team of researchers gathered around this Austrian-French collaborative project constitutes a rich panel of complementary skills with proven track record of excellent scientific research. It will be co-coordinated between Prof. Andrii Chumak from University of Vienna (U-Wien) on the Austrian side, and Dr. Vincent Vlaminck from Institut Mines Télécom-Atlantique (IMT-A) on the French side, and also involves the contribution of the Institut de Physique et Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg (IPCMS, France) represented by Dr. Ives Henry, and the Christian Doppler Laboratory - Advanced Magnetic Sensing and Materials (U-Wien, Austria) represented by Prof. Dieter Süss.