Experimental Realization of a Passive GHz Frequency-Division Demultiplexer for Magnonic Logic Networks

The emerging field of magnonics employs spin waves and their quanta, magnons, to implement wave-based computing on the micro- and nanoscale. Multi-frequency magnon networks would allow for parallel data processing within single logic elements whereas this is not the case with conventional transistor-based electronic logic. However, a lack of experimentally proven solutions to efficiently combine and separate magnons of different frequencies has impeded the intensive use of this concept. In this Letter, the experimental realization of a spin-wave demultiplexer enabling frequency-dependent separation of magnonic signals in the GHz range is demonstrated. The device is based on two-dimensional magnon transport in the form of spin-wave beams in unpatterned magnetic films. The intrinsic frequency-dependence of the beam direction is exploited to realize a passive functioning obviating an external control and additional power consumption. This approach paves the way to magnonic multiplexing circuits enabling simultaneous information transport and processing.
Comment: 16 pages, 3 figures