Micron-sized magnonic 3-port rectilinear circulator

Abstract

The development of miniaturized non-reciprocal microwave technologies compatible with integrated circuit architectures remains a critical challenge for modern information technology. Here, we present the first experimental characterization of a micron-sized prototypical magnon circulator. Taking advantage of the chiral excitation of spin-waves via nanowire gratings, we propose an original design of a circulator involving three channels of rectilinear and unidirectional spin-wave beams. We demonstrate via a full 3-port spin-wave spectroscopy a genuine spin-wave circulation between the three ports. The narrow frequency band of operation can be tuned over a broad range of frequencies ($2$-$8$ GHz) with both an external field of up to $100$ mT, and the dimensions of the grating specifying the wavevectors. This proposed scheme opens up possibilities for new architectures of integrated and miniaturized non-reciprocal microwave devices.