Effects of magnetic parameters on magnonic bandgaps for bicomponent magnonic crystals

Abstract

Magnonic crystals are of large theoretical and technological interest as they provide control over spin waves through magnonic bandgaps similar to what photonic crystals do for electromagnetic waves. In particular, one-dimensional magnonic crystals comprising periodic arrays of submicron stripes of alternating magnetic materials were fabricated and measured to have well-defined bandgaps. Recently, we have developed a theoretical approach which successfully accounted for the measured size-dependences of their bandgap centers and widths. Employing the same theoretical approach in this study, we investigate how these bandgap parameters of such magnonic crystals depend on their magnetic parameters. Results show that magnonic crystals having different magnetic contrasts between their component materials exhibit similar trends in size-dependences of their bandgap parameters. In addition, we also investigate the sensitivity of the bandgap parameters of a magnonic crystal on its magnetic parameters. Calculations reveal that bandgap parameters are more sensitive to changes in the saturation magnetizations of the component materials than changes in their exchange stiffness constants. © 2012 American Scientific Publishers.