Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences
Tohoku University

A new study led by researchers at Tohoku University, with first author Dr. Aakanksha Sud from the Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences (FRIS), has demonstrated strong nonlinear interactions between magnetic waves—known as magnons—in a symmetric synthetic antiferromagnet.

 

By applying high-power microwave signals, the research team activated a three-magnon mixing process, where a high-frequency optical magnon interacts nonlinearly with two low-frequency acoustic magnons. This interaction leads to Rabi-like splitting of the resonance—a signature of strong mode coupling—achieved without breaking the material’s structural or magnetic symmetry.

 

“In most prior systems, strong nonlinear coupling required symmetry breaking through complex design or field alignment,” said Dr. Sud. “Our work shows that even symmetric systems can host robust nonlinear dynamics when driven electrically.”

 

This discovery paves the way for synthetic antiferromagnets to serve as a tunable platform for wave-based computing, spintronic logic, and potentially quantum magnonics under cryogenic conditions.

The results, published in Physical Review Letters and selected as an Editor’s Suggestion, open exciting possibilities for energy-efficient spin-based technologies.

 

 

Publication Details
Title: Electrically Controlled Nonlinear Magnon-Magnon Coupling in a Synthetic Antiferromagnet
Authors: A. Sud, K. Yamamoto, S. Iihama, K. Ishibashi, S. Fukami, H. Kurebayashi, and S. Mizukami
Journal: Physical Review Letters
DOI: 10.1103/sc6y-rxbg
URL: https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/sc6y-rxbg