Scattering of exchange spin waves from regions of modulated magnetization

Abstract

We investigate the reflection coefficient of spin waves propagating in an ultra-thin ferromagnetic film with regions where saturation magnetization is modulated. We find analytically and using micromagnetic simulations that there are transmission resonances that depend on the width of the regions and on the energy of excitation. Our results resemble the quantum mechanical Ramsauer-Townsend effect in which an electron with certain energies can propagate above a potential field without scattering. Our findings are useful for reconfigurable magnonic devices where the saturation magnetization can be dynamically controlled via a thermal landscape.