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Phase-resolved imaging of coherent phonon-magnon coupling

Yannik Kunz1,*, Florian Kraft1, David Breitbach1, Kevin Künstle1, Torben Pfeifer2, Matthias Küß3, Stephan Glamsch3, Manfred Albrecht3, and Mathias Weiler1

  • *Contact author: ykunz@rptu.de
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Phys. Rev. B 114, L140403 – Published 9 September, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/vvy1-772h

Abstract

We use a direct phase-resolved optical technique to study the coherence of spin waves (SWs) that are driven by surface acoustic waves (SAWs) via resonant magnetoelastic coupling. For this, we employ a piezoelectric lithium tantalate (LiTaO3) substrate, equipped with micropatterned interdigital transducers for SAW excitation, which interact with SWs in a 5-nm-thin and 20-µm-wide Co40Fe40B20 waveguide. We detect the SAW and the SW using a phase-locked microfocused optical polarization detection experiment and use the characteristic polarization dependence to separate the SAW and SW signals. Our measurements directly image the resonant and coherent excitation of the SW by the SAW.

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Phys. Rev. B 114, L140403– Published 9 September, 2026
  • Received 20 March 2026
  • Revised 30 June 2026
  • Accepted 19 August 2026
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