Polarization, denoting the precession direction with respect to the background magnetization, is an intrinsic degree of freedom of a spin wave. Using magnetic textures to control the spin-wave polarization is fundamental and indispensable toward reprogrammable polarization-based magnonics. Here, we show that due to the intrinsic cubic anisotropy, a ${90}^{\circ }$ antiferromagnetic domain wall naturally acts as a spin-wave retarder (waveplate). Moreover, for a ${90}^{\circ }$ domain wall pair developed by introducing a second domain in a homogenous antiferromagnetic wire, the sign of the retarding effect can be flipped by simply switching the magnetization direction of the intermediate domain.

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• Antiferromagnetism
• Domain walls
• Magnetic anisotropy
• Polarization of light
• Spin waves