Phase-dependent parametric amplification of propagating spin waves in YIG nanostructures enabled by local inhomogeneities

Abstract

As magnonics evolves towards non-conventional computing, the development of phase-conserving and phase-sensitive amplification mechanisms becomes increasingly important. A particularly promising approach is non-adiabatic parametric amplification. In this work, the influence of local inhomogeneities on the parallel parametric amplification of spin waves in nano-scale Yttrium Iron Garnet waveguides is investigated. Micromagnetic simulations reveal that in larger pump regions, where only adiabatic amplification is expected, scattering centers provide additional linear momentum that enables non-adiabatic amplification of propagating spin waves. Importantly, the coherence of the process remains unaffected by the scattering and the generation of co-propagating spin waves enhance the effective amplification. Our simulations are confirmed by micro-focused Brillouin light scattering spectroscopy experiments, reproducing both the phase-dependent behavior and the characteristic features of the time-resolved dynamics. These findings demonstrate the flexibility of the parametric amplification process and provide a key mechanism for the development of large-scale spin-wave computing circuits.