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Establishing the magnetoelastic origin of spin-wave routing through focused-ion-beam patterning

Felix Naunheimer1,*, Johannes Greil1, Valentin Ahrens1, Levente Maucha2, Ádám Papp2, György Csaba2, and Markus Becherer1

  • *Contact author: felix.naunheimer@tum.de
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Phys. Rev. Applied 26, 024028 – Published 12 August, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/ds1z-ry8r

Abstract

Spin waves are promising information carriers for analog and wave-based computing, where functionality relies on compact and precisely engineered scattering landscapes. Focused-ion-beam (FIB) irradiation enables such control by locally tailoring the spin-wave dispersion in yttrium iron garnet. However, a nonmonotonic dependence of the spin-wave wavelength on increasing ion dose hinders predictive landscape design. Here, we present an experimentally validated framework that explains this nonmonotonic spin-wave steering by linking phenomenological strain-induced anisotropy to its magnetoelastic origin. Irradiation-induced lattice dislocations drive elastic and plastic deformation, which evolve into partial amorphization, each stage contributing distinctly to the dispersion behavior. We combine postirradiation wet-chemical etching and atomic force microscopy to quantify thickness changes and track the dispersion in etched regions using time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect microscopy. Fitting the data to the Kalinikos–Slavin formalism with an added effective magnetoelastic field isolates contributions from elastic and plastic deformation. Validation is achieved by mapping the deformation evolution onto a three-phase scenario based on SRIM simulations, reproducing the extracted field trends, and consistent strain-tensor and micromagnetic analyses. These results establish a physical basis for FIB-engineered graded-index spin-wave landscapes and magnetoelastically programmable magnonic devices.

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Phys. Rev. Applied 26, 024028– Published 12 August, 2026
  • Received 28 January 2026
  • Revised 20 April 2026
  • Accepted 9 July 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

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