Abstract (eng)
Accessing individual qubits as a quantum technology platform for novel computing capabilities and quantum hybrid systems has attracted growing scientific interest in the last decade. The novel field of quantum magnonics harnesses the potential of spin waves (SW) and their single quanta, magnons, to transmit, store, and process information in magnetically ordered materials. The most widely used material for magnonic applications is monocrystalline yttrium iron garnet (YIG), typically grown on gadolinium gallium garnet (GGG). To probe the physics of these magnonic devices at sub-micrometre level, high-frequency compatible microwave-magnetic circuits for excitation and detection of spin waves are required. Microantennas have already been utilised to excite spin waves with continuous or pulsed radiofrequency (RF) signals, leading to the demonstration of integrated magnonic circuits and the control of Bose-Einstein condensates. Propagating spin waves have shown a promising capability for novel quantum information processing applications. Hence, for the efficient coupling and detection of propagating magnons excited by RF-signals, large-area impedance-matched on-chip lithographed antennas are required. Thus, the scientific objective of this thesis is to perform analytical and numerical calculations of the spin-wave excitation efficiency for micrometre-scale on-chip microwave antennas of different designs, to fabricate selected designs, and to compare the spin-wave excitation of the fabricated antennas experimentally. First, I compared different antenna designs for low-loss and efficient spin-wave excitation, comprising literature study, analytical calculations, and multi-physics software simulations. The electromagnetic finite element simulations, performed using the software package COMSOL Multiphysics, were combined with micromagnetic finite difference numerical calculations using the python package Magnum.np and were compared with calculations conducted by the micromagnetic modelling package TetraX. I successfully transferred the magnetic field components obtained by the finite element electromagnetic simulation into a finite difference grid, which already forms the simulation box for the micromagnetic simulation including the exact shape of the magnetic field. Therefore, the numerical simulation includes the complete treatment of the problem, from the excitation of the RF signal in the antenna to the propagating spin wave. I fabricated four different antenna pairs to optimize spin-wave excitation on 48nm thick YIG using electron-beam lithography combined with physical vapour deposition at the Central European Institute of Technology (CEITEC, Brno, Czech Republic). The receiving and detecting antennas were consistently spaced 20 μm apart. The project was concluded by measuring the spin-wave excitation and detection experimentally at room temperature, using the antennas that were designed. To measure the spin-wave excitation and detection efficiency, I performed all-electrical propagating spin-wave spectroscopy (AEPSWS) up to 250mT external field. The results were then compared between the different antenna designs and were checked for agreement with numerical and theoretical calculations. In this study, I utilised a combination of the finite element electromagnetic and finite difference micromagnetic simulations of sub-micrometre antennas for SW excitation and detection. This work offers a new method to analyse different antenna structures in a complete treatment of the problem, from the excitation of an RF signal in the antenna to the propagating spin wave, which has not been demonstrated until now. The simulations results show good agreement with those obtained by measuring the fabricated antennas using all-electrical propagating spin-wave spectroscopy.