Electrical control of magnon propagation in multiferroic BiFeO3 films

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that in multiferroic BiFeO3 films, the magnon propagation can be electrically controlled by switching the Neel moment, enabling low-power spin wave logical gates.

Contribution

It introduces a phenomenological Landau theory model showing electrical control of magnon dispersion in BiFeO3, linking spin wave behavior to electric switching of the Neel moment.

Findings

Magnon dispersion is sensitive to the angle between spin wave vector and Neel moment.

Electrical switching of the Neel moment can directly control spin wave propagation.

Potential for constructing low-power spin wave logical gates.

Abstract

The spin wave spectra of multiferroic BiFeO3 films is calculated using a phenomenological Landau theory that includes magnetostatic effects. The lowest frequency magnon dispersion is shown to be quite sensitive to the angle between spin wave propagation vector and the Neel moment. Since electrical switching of the Neel moment has recently been demonstrated in this material, the sensitivity of the magnon dispersion permits direct electrical switching of spin wave propagation. This effect can be used to construct spin wave logical gates without current pulses, potentially allowing reduced power dissipation per logical operation.