Identification and minimization of losses in microscaled spin-wave transducers

Abstract

Magnonics is a promising platform for integrated radio frequency (rf) devices, leveraging its inherent non-reciprocity and reconfigurability. However, the efficiency of spin-wave transducers driven by rf-currents remains a major challenge. In this study, we systematically investigate a spin-wave transducer composed of micron-sized rf antennas on yttrium iron garnet (YIG) films of different thickness - an ideal testbed for integrated magnonic devices. Using propagating spin-wave spectroscopy and numerical simulations, we analyze spin-wave transmission, identifying key loss mechanisms and improving device efficiency by reducing ohmic resistance. The resulting improvements enable the reduction of insertion loss to below $\SI{10}{dB}$ in microscaled spin-wave transducers. At the same time large non-reciprocity can be exploited to achieve significant isolation on the microscale.