Argonne National Laboratory

Research Highlight | Center for Nanoscale Materials

Taming the photon-magnon interaction
In a study published in Physical Review Letters, researchers demonstrated control of the interactions between microwave photons and magnons, potentially leading to advances in quantum and electronic devices.
Controllable hybrid mode spectra induced by a temporally periodic drive in our Floquet cavity electromagnonic system. The inset shows the device design with a dielectric resonator (yellow cylinder) coupled to a magnon resonator (the black spin).

Scientific Achievement

The first demonstration of real-time control of the interaction between electromagnetic waves and spin excitations was achieved.

Significance and Impact

This work provides new opportunities for manipulating magnon-photon dynamics, opening a new direction for magnon-based coherent signal processing in both classical and quantum regimes.

Research Details

  • Enabled by novel device design, Floquet engineering was introduced into hybrid magnonic systems for the first time.
  • The frequency of magnons — quasiparticles representing collective spin excitations — was modulated at previously unachievable speeds, leading to new and controllable modal interactions.
  • The Center for Nanoscale Materials (CNM) magneto-electro-optical spectrometer was used.

Work was performed in part at CNM.

DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.125.237201

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About Argonne’s Center for Nanoscale Materials
The Center for Nanoscale Materials is one of the five DOE Nanoscale Science Research Centers, premier national user facilities for interdisciplinary research at the nanoscale supported by the DOE Office of Science. Together the NSRCs comprise a suite of complementary facilities that provide researchers with state-of-the-art capabilities to fabricate, process, characterize and model nanoscale materials, and constitute the largest infrastructure investment of the National Nanotechnology Initiative. The NSRCs are located at DOE’s Argonne, Brookhaven, Lawrence Berkeley, Oak Ridge, Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories. For more information about the DOE NSRCs, please visit https://​sci​ence​.osti​.gov/​U​s​e​r​-​F​a​c​i​l​i​t​i​e​s​/​U​s​e​r​-​F​a​c​i​l​i​t​i​e​s​-​a​t​-​a​-​G​lance.

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