Visualization and Control of Unconventional Magnons in Two Dimensions
Abstract
Spintronics aims to overcome intrinsic limits of electronics in speed and dissipation by using spin as the information carrier1. To fully avoid the drawbacks inherent to charge transport, the spin current must be decoupled from the charge current and carried by spin waves called magnons2. While promising in applications, magnon-based spintronics — magnonics — has been impeded by the lack of a suitable material platform. Magnetic alloys are well-suited for nano-fabrications but suffer from large magnetic damping2. Yttrium iron garnet (YIG) features exceptionally low damping however has limited compatibility with nano-fabrications and modern device architectures.This project aims to pave the way for next-generation magnonic devices based on two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals magnets to overcome fundamental limits of conventional materials. The project will address the major challenge in exploring magnon transport in 2D magnets – the lack of a suitable detection technique – by developing a novel optical nanoscopy that directly visualizes magnon propagation in space and time with single line of spin sensitivity, high throughput (greater than1 frame per second), femtoseconds temporal resolution and spatial super-resolution of less than 50nm. It is expected that the proposed effort will shed new light on exotic spin excitations in quantum materials, such as topological magnons and magnon solitons, and open up transformative device concepts including lossless spin transport and novel schemes of quantum computation.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Feb 29, 2024
- Source ID
- FA95502310117
Entities
People
- Chenhao Jin
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- United States Air Force
- University of California, Santa Barbara