REVIEW ARTICLE

PUBLISHED ONLINE: 2 JUNE 2015 | DOI: 10.1038/NPHYS3347

Magnon spintronics
A. V. Chumak*, V. I. Vasyuchka, A. A. Serga and B. Hillebrands

Magnon spintronics is the field of spintronics concerned with structures, devices and circuits that use spin currents carried by
magnons. Magnons are the quanta of spin waves: the dynamic eigen-excitations of a magnetically ordered body. Analogous to
electric currents, magnon-based currents can be used to carry, transport and process information. The use of magnons allows
the implementation of novel wave-based computing technologies free from the drawbacks inherent to modern electronics,
such as dissipation of energy due to Ohmic losses. Logic circuits based on wave interference and nonlinear wave interaction
can be designed with much smaller footprints compared with conventional electron-based logic circuits. In this review,
after an introduction into the basic properties of magnons and their handling, we discuss the inter-conversion between
magnon currents and electron-carried spin and charge currents; and concepts and experimental studies of magnon-based
computing circuits.

A
disturbance in local magnetic ordering can propagate in Electronics
Converters Magnonics
a magnetic material in the form of a wave. Such a wave
to and from
was first predicted by F. Bloch in 1929 (ref. 1) and was magnons
named a spin wave as it is related to the collective excitations of the jc js
electron spin system in ferromagnetic metals and insulators2,3 . The Charge of electron Magnon
wide variety of linear and nonlinear spin-wave phenomena boosted
Logic Data
interest into the fundamental properties2–4 , while spin waves in gates buffering
Spintronics
the GHz frequency range were of great interest for applications in
telecommunication systems and radars5,6 . Nowadays, spin waves Magnon conduits
are considered as potential data carriers for computing devices, as js
Analog Reconfig.
they have nanometre wavelengths, can be in the low-THz frequency data proc. elements
Spin of electron
range, provide Joule-heat-free transfer of spin information over
macroscopic distances, and access to wave-based computing
concepts (see Box 1)7–44 . Figure 1 | The concept of magnon spintronics. Information coded into
The field of science that refers to information transport and charge or spin currents is converted into magnon currents, processed
processing by spin waves is known as magnonics22,45,46 . This name within the magnonic system and converted back47 .
relates to the magnon—the spin-wave quantum associated with
the flip of a single spin. The usage of magnonic approaches in angle between the spin-wave wavevector k and the saturation
the field of spintronics, hitherto dealing with electron-carried spin magnetization M. In an in-plane magnetized magnetic film, waves
currents, gave birth to the emerging field of magnon spintronics47 . propagating along and transverse to M are named backward volume
The scheme of magnon spintronics in Fig. 1 shows that, besides magnetostatic waves (BVMSWs) and magnetostatic surface waves
magnon-based elements operating with analogous and digital data, (MSSWs, also known as Damon–Eshbach waves), respectively.
this field comprises also converters between the magnon subsystem Dipolar waves in a normally magnetized film are named forward
and the electron-carried spin and charge currents. These converters volume magnetostatic waves (FVMSWs). Historically, most of the
interface the magnonic circuitry with spintronic and electronic magnon-based devices for microwave signals processing5,6 operate
environments. The main building blocks of magnon spintronics with dipolar spin waves, which can be excited and detected rather
shown in Fig. 1 are discussed here in the light of their advantages, conveniently by inductive antennas. Nowadays, attention is more
challenges and perspectives. focused on the exchange waves that allow usage in nanometre-
sized structures and devices. All these types of waves have different
Spin-wave basics and toolbox dispersion characteristics (dependencies of the spin-wave frequency
Two general types of interactions couple electron spins and thus f on the wavenumber k)48 and nonlinear properties, and thus offer
define the spin-wave characteristics: strong but short-distance specific advantages for data processing22,45,46 .
exchange interactions and relatively weak long-range dipole–dipole Spin waves are usually excited in thin films and conduits
interactions. The waves with short wavelength λ (roughly, λ < 1 µm), fabricated in the form of narrow strips of a magnetic material.
whose properties are mostly governed by the exchange interaction, The most commonly used materials are polycrystalline metallic
are named exchange spin waves. Correspondingly, the long- films of Permalloy (Py, Ni81 Fe19 ) (refs 45,46), which combine a
wavelength waves are named dipolar or magnetostatic waves relatively low magnetic damping with good suitability for micro-
(MSWs; refs 2,3). Owing to the inherent anisotropy of the sized patterning; and single-crystal films of yttrium–iron–garnet
dipolar interaction, the MSWs are classified depending on the (YIG, Y3 Fe5 O12 ) (refs 21,22), which possess extremely low damping.

Fachbereich Physik and Landesforschungszentrum OPTIMAS, Technische Universität Kaiserslautern, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany.
*e-mail: chumak@physik.uni-kl.de

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REVIEW ARTICLE NATURE PHYSICS DOI: 10.1038/NPHYS3347

Box 1 | Data processing benefiting from magnonics.

Wave-based computing. A promising direction for a future occupies a significant part of the chip area. Feeding of magnonic
beyond-CMOS computing technology (CMOS: complementary elements can be realized using an electro-magnetic wave: Au et al.
metal–oxide–semiconductor) is based on the substitution of proposed placing a magnonic chip in a global microwave field
electrons by quasi-particles such as magnons or photons7–9 , which driving a number of separate, local spin-wave transducers27 .
allow operations with vector rather than scalar variables. The
usage of wave phase provides an additional degree of freedom Wide physical toolbox. Magnon properties can be engineered
in data processing10–13 , opens the way to non-Boolean computing on a broad scale by a choice of the magnetic material, the
algorithms14,15 , and allows a decrease in footprint of the computing strength of a magnetic field, the magnetization direction, the
elements16 . A good example is a majority gate produced in geometry of magnetic structures, and so on. In addition, there
the form of a three-input combiner12,16,17 , which substitutes is a variety of physical effects applicable for the control of spin-
several tens of CMOS transistors. Reversible logic18,19 and parallel wave excitation and propagation. For example, nonreciprocal
computing, where the same element simultaneously processes data operations required in communications28 and logic devices29 can
at different frequencies20 , are other advantages. be realized by the use of the magnetostatic surface waves (MSSWs;
refs 2,3): an antenna excites a MSSW packet in one propagation
Insulator-based spintronics. A magnon current has advantages direction only29–31 . Another example is a spin-wave wavelength
as compared to a conventional spin-polarized electron current. converter32 , which uses the change in the geometry of a spin-wave
It does not involve the motion of electrons and, thus, it is free conduit to reduce the magnon wavelength. Spatial addressing
of Joule heat dissipation7 . In low-damping magnetic dielectrics of magnon currents is possible even in a plane film: spin-wave
(for example, yttrium-iron-garnet, YIG; ref. 21) magnons can caustics33,34 can be used for the formation of non-diffractive
propagate over centimetre distances22 whereas an electron-carried wave beams. The direction of these beams is controlled by the
spin current is limited by the spin diffusing length, which does not magnetic field.
exceed one micrometre.
Nonlinear data processing. A wide variety of pronounced
Wide frequency range from GHz to THz. The wave frequency nonlinear spin-wave effects2–4,22 , opens additional opportunities
defines the maximum clock rate of a computing device. The for data processing. For example, data can be transferred over
magnon spectrum covers the GHz frequency range used nowadays large distances without distortion in the form of spin-wave
in communication5,6 , and it reaches into the very promising THz solitons35 and bullets36 , or they can be buffered in non-propagating
range21,23,24 . For example, the edge of the first magnonic Brillouin modes and restored afterwards37 . Effects such as wavefront
zone in YIG lies at about 7 THz (ref. 21). reversal36,38 and power limiting39 have been demonstrated.
Finally, the nonlinearity of magnons allows the control of
Nanosized structural elements. The minimal sizes of wave-based one magnon current by another and, thus, the realization of
computing elements are defined by the wavelength of the used magnon transistors7 .
wave. Spin waves are promising because they allow operations
with wavelengths below 10 nm (a lower limit is given by the Macroscopic quantum phenomena. Magnons are bosons
lattice constant of a specific magnetic material21,23,24 ). Moreover, and can form a Bose–Einstein condensate—a spontaneous
the frequency of exchange magnons increases quadratically coherent ground state—established independently of the magnon
with decreasing wavelength, and their group velocity increases excitation mechanism even at room temperature40,41 . A magnon
linearly in the first one-third of the Brillouin zone. Thus, supercurrent, a collective motion of condensed magnons driven
miniaturization25,26 of magnon-based devices goes along with an by a phase gradient of a condensate wavefunction42 , can be used
increase in computing speed (see discussions in ref. 7). for low-loss information transfer. Recent theoretical predictions
address the magnonic Josephson effect43 and the magnon
Contactless wiring. Wiring, which is required for powering of Aharonov–Casher effect, where the supercurrent is controlled
separate elements, increases the complexity of the architecture and by an electric field44 .

At the same time, intensive theoretical and experimental research system out of equilibrium46 ; parametric amplification of spin
efforts are devoted to the development of novel materials. An waves from thermal fluctuations22,57 ; magneto-electric cells in
example is the class of ferromagnetic Heusler compounds, which which an electric field controls an exchange bias field or an
combine high spin polarization, high saturation magnetization, and anisotropy field in a ferromagnet/multiferroic heterostructure16,58 ;
a high Curie temperature with a low magnetic Gilbert damping49,50 . and spin-transfer-torque (STT)-based magnon injection59–62 .
It has also been shown that CoFeB composites are a good choice for Generally, conversion efficiencies are at present still rather low,
magnonics51,52 . Finally, recently developed YIG films of nanometre but further progress is expected. STT-based magnon injection will
thicknesses25,53–55 have great potential for application in a nanosized be discussed later in more detail as it enables the direct coupling
insulator-based magnon spintronics25,26 . of spin waves with a spin-polarized d.c. electric current and, thus,
The classical approach for magnon excitation is the inductive bridges magnonics with electron-based spintronics and electronics.
microwave technique, where an electromagnetic signal applied Among the most common means to detect magnons, we
to a microwave antenna excites magnetization precession in the list the already mentioned antenna-based inductive techniques;
magnetic material via an alternating Oersted field induced around optical techniques including time-resolved Faraday and Kerr
the antenna29–31,56 . Up to now, this technique has retained its effects27,63 and Brillouin light scattering (BLS) spectroscopy22,64 ;
importance for application as it allows control of the frequency, caloritronic means, where magnons are measured by their
wavelength and phase of the injected magnons. Among other thermal footprint65,66 ; and magnon detection via the spin-
methods of magnon excitation we would like to mention optical pumping effect53,67–70 . However, probably the most powerful tool
means, where an ultra-short laser pulse pushes the magnetic for fundamental studies is BLS spectroscopy, as it delivers spatial,

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NATURE PHYSICS DOI: 10.1038/NPHYS3347 REVIEW ARTICLE
a d.c. source c

Integrated intensity, J(r) (a.u.)

+ −Probing 25
300

λsw (nm)
laser light
+I 20
200
15 JC
Optical SiO2 40 60 80 Pt
window insulator I (mA)
YIG
10 H0 h1 y
Nanocontact H0 || +ŷ
μ -BLS measurements
Pd–Cu Calculated intensity 6.33 GHz
electrodes 5 +8 mA
Al coplanar 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0
waveguide Co81 Fe19 Distance from the contact r (μm) 1.40 1.45 1.50 1.55

Hext Cu spacer +4 mA
Ni80Fe20 free layer
10

MRFM signal
BLS intensity (a.u.)
b I=0 1.40 1.45 1.50
d.c. 8 2.0 G
Probing current I = 12.5 mA 0 mA
laser light 6
1.40 1.45 1.50
4 I = 15.0 mA
−4 mA
2 I = 16.0 mA
1.40 1.45 1.50 1.55
H Py(5nm) Pt(8nm) 0 I = 16.1 mA
disk 7 8 9 10 11 −8 mA
1μ Au(150nm) Frequency (GHz) 1.40 1.45 1.50 1.55
m top electrodes Magnetic field (kOe)

Figure 2 | Magnon excitation by spin-transfer torque. a, Sample layout for studies of propagating spin waves induced by the spin-transfer torque
(STT; ref. 60). Right panel: Spin-wave intensity as a function of the distance from the centre of the point contact. The inset shows the dependence of the
spin-wave wavelength on the applied d.c. current. b, Experimental layout of a magnetic nano-oscillator driven by a spin current generated by the spin Hall
effect (SHE; ref. 61). Right panel: BLS spectra of the thermal spin-wave fluctuations at electric currents below the onset of the auto-oscillation. The
spin-current-induced auto-oscillation peak is marked with a vertical arrow. c, Experimental layout for the STT-based control of spin-wave damping in
magnetic dielectric YIG (ref. 62). The electric current is applied to the 7-nm-thick Pt layer on top of a 20-nm-thick YIG disk. Spin-wave spectra measured
by magnetic resonance force microscopy (MRFM) are shown below for different currents. The linewidth of the mode of highest amplitude (shaded area) is
used for the determination of the effective spin-wave damping.

temporal36 and phase32,71 information for a wide range of frequencies A different way to generate a spin-polarized electron current
and wavenumbers. is based on the spin Hall effect (SHE) caused by spin-dependent
scattering of electrons in a non-magnetic metal or semiconductor
Magnon excitation by spin-transfer torque with large spin–orbit interaction77,78 . Electrons flowing in a
To combine magnonic devices with electronic circuits, efficient film, magnetized in-plane and transversely to the current
means for magnon excitation by a charge current are required. direction, scatter with spin-asymmetry, generating a spin current
Although magnons can be injected relatively easily by an a.c. perpendicular to the film plane. This current, crossing the interface
electric current (for example, using antenna structures), it is a to an attached magnetic layer, generates a STT in this layer. A typical
fairly complex problem if a d.c. current is used. One of the most metal used in SHE studies is Pt (refs 79,80). Its thickness varies
promising solutions is usage of the spin-transfer-torque (STT) effect. between 2 and 10 nm: these values are close to the spin-diffusion
In 1996, Slonczewski72 and Berger73 predicted independently that length in Pt (refs 81–83).
the injection of a spin-polarized current in a magnetic metallic film A great advantage of the SHE as a spin-current source is
can generate a spin-transfer torque strong enough to reorient the that a STT can be injected not only into a single local object
magnetization or to excite magnetization precession74 in this film. (the diameter of a typical STNO is less than 100 nm) but into
To generate the spin-polarized current, the d.c. charge current is sent a large area of a magnetic film. That allows the realization
through an additional magnetic layer with a fixed magnetization of spin-wave amplification via damping compensation. The first
direction. The device, especially designed to excite magnetization experimental observation of SHE-induced damping reduction was
precession, is named a spin-torque nano-oscillator (STNO). The reported by Ando et al.79 in a Py/Pt bilayer. In follow-up studies80 ,
first microwave measurement of spin-torque-driven precession the variation of the damping parameter by a factor of four was
was presented in 1998 by Tsoi and colleagues75 . Krivorotov et al. demonstrated in Py/Cu/Pt multilayers studied by means of BLS
have demonstrated experimentally that STT can be used to spectroscopy. However, no spin-wave generation was achieved in
control the magnetic damping and for magnetization reversal of these experiments, the probable reason being the strong nonlinear
a nanomagnet76 . redistribution of the injected energy between many magnon modes.
The excitation of spin waves by a STNO was observed by In subsequent studies, a modified design of the current-conducting
Demidov and colleagues59 . The authors used BLS spectroscopy to structure, containing bowtie-shaped electrodes with a 100 nm gap
perform a two-dimensional mapping of waves emitted by the STNO in between (see Fig. 2b), was used61 . These electrodes allow an
into an in-plane magnetized Permalloy film. It was reported that the increase in the density of the electric current applied to the Pt layer62
emission is directional and depends on the orientation of the applied and the introduction of a controlled radiation loss mechanism for
magnetic field. However, as the propagation length of the emitted the parasitic magnon modes previously disturbing the generation
waves did not exceed one micrometre, the propagating character of process. Consequently, the injected energy was concentrated into
the waves was not proved. Another report on spin-wave generation the small area between the electrodes, and a single bullet-like
by a STNO was presented by Madami and colleagues60 . The authors spatially localized magnon mode was observed. The coherency of
used a normally magnetized Permalloy film, which was probed by this mode was proven by Liu et al. in microwave measurements84 .
BLS spectroscopy—see Fig. 2a. In this case, the radial emission of Recently, Duan et al.85 demonstrated microwave oscillations of the
spin waves propagating over a distance of a few micrometres was magnetization in a ferromagnetic nanowire, where the geometric
observed (see Fig. 2a). The magnon free path obtained from the data confinement dilutes the magnon spectrum and, thus, suppresses the
presented in Fig. 2a agrees well with a theoretical estimation. parasitic nonlinear energy redistribution.

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REVIEW ARTICLE NATURE PHYSICS DOI: 10.1038/NPHYS3347
a d.c. b O-scope with preamplifier c x1 x2
+
Microwave pulse Ma V
Oscillo- gne x
scope tic EISHE x=0 Pt
fiel
dH js YIG
3 mm a.c. H
Pum hmw
Pump pin Pt Surface wave GGG
antenna
Input

YIG g
Spin wave Pt pulse Ground Signal line Ground
200 μm 500 μm 4 mm
YIG
Scattered
Magnetic field H0 light GGG
Laser
8
ISHE voltage (μV) SW intensity (a.u.)

Applied pulse

6 x1 = −1.33 mm x1 = 0 mm x1 = 1.33 mm
10 Hc Dipolar-

Wavelength
V V V
4 exchange +H −H

(μm)
1.0 magnons
Exchange
2 magnons
ω p /2 < ω H 20
0.1 +H +H +H
0
4 1.0 10

Voltage (μV)
8.9 W
20 W
2 ISHE voltage 28.9 W
+H0 0
(a.u.) 0.5
0
−H0 −10
−2
50 ns −H −H −H
H2 H1 Hc
−4 0.0 −20
0 100 200 300 400 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 −2.5 3.0 −20 0 20 −20 0 20 −20 0 20
Time t (ns) Magnetic field H (kOe) |H| − |Hr| (Oe)

Figure 3 | Conversion of magnons into charge currents. a, Experimental set-up for the inverse spin Hall effect (ISHE) detection of propagating spin
waves70 . A spin-wave packet is excited in the YIG conduit using a microstrip antenna and is detected by the Pt strip as a.c. and d.c. signals. Temporal
evolutions of the spin-wave intensity (a.c. signal) and the ISHE voltage (d.c. signal) are shown in the bottom panel for different field polarities.
b, Experimental set-up for the investigation of spin pumping by parametrically injected exchange magnons69 . A 10-nm-thick, 3 × 3 mm2 Pt layer is
deposited onto the 2.1-µm-thick YIG film. Middle panel: Calculated wavelength of the parametrically injected magnons. Bottom panel: Normalized
dependencies of the ISHE voltage as a function of the bias magnetic field for different pump powers. c, Set-up for studies of spin pumping by nonreciprocal
spin waves (adapted from ref. 108). Two needle probes contacting the surface of the Pt layer are connected to a voltmeter. Bottom panel: Voltage measured
as a function of bias magnetic field at different probe positions (see sketches) for different magnetic field polarities.

Another important advantage of the SHE-based STT is that of the spin-pumping-induced spin current was reported by Costache
no electric current flows across the magnetic layer and, thus, and colleagues100 . In the same year, Saitoh et al.68 reported the
the usage of a low-damping magnetic dielectric material such as observation of spin pumping using the ISHE. This effect refers
YIG is possible. In the pioneering work of Kajiwara et al.86 the to the generation of a charge current in a non-magnetic metal
transmission of a d.c. electric signal through a YIG film was by a spin current. Owing to this effect, a spin current induced
demonstrated. For that, the SHE-based STT was used to convert a in a Pt film by a precessing magnetization in an adjacent
d.c. current into travelling spin waves. However, the exact conditions magnetic film is converted into a d.c. voltage. Since then, a
required for such conversion53,87,88 , or even for the SHE-STT-based combined SP-ISHE mechanism has been used as a convenient
damping compensation89,90 , were not defined. In this context, special detection mechanism for magnons (see, for example, the review
attention has been attracted by recent work of Hamadeh et al. where by Hoffman82 ).
bowtie-like electrodes (see Fig. 2c) were used for the damping The SP-ISHE mechanism allows measurements of the
compensation in YIG discs62 . The decrease of the ferromagnetic magnetization precession not only in metallic-based but also
resonance linewidth (which is a measure of the magnetic damping) in YIG-based structures. A first report of Kajiwara et al. on the
by a factor of three was reported. observation of an ISHE voltage in YIG/Pt bilayers86 was followed
It was also demonstrated that a spin current and, consequently, by comprehensive studies of this phenomenon: The dependencies
the STT may be induced by a thermal gradient rather than by an on the thicknesses of the non-magnetic metal81,87,96 and the YIG
electric current and the SHE effect91–93 . This approach opens the (refs 101,102) layer, as well as on the applied microwave power102
door for the effective conversion of waste heat into electrical voltages have been reported. The influence of the interface conditions on the
or even spin waves for further data transfer and processing65,71,94–97 . spin-pumping efficiency103,104 was revealed, and the contributions
to the SP effect by different spin-wave modes were studied88,105 .
Conversion of magnon currents into electron currents An important milestone was the successful implementation of
The structure of magnon spintronics as shown in Fig. 1 assumes that the combined SP-ISHE mechanism for the detection of propagating
after information is processed within a magnonic system it needs spin waves70 . A typical geometry is shown in Fig. 3a. A spin-wave
to be converted back to electronic signals. A conventional way to detector in the form of a 200-µm-wide Pt strip was placed 3 mm
do this is to use a strip antenna or a coplanar antenna, in which away from the microstrip antenna. The Pt strip was used for
spin waves induce an a.c. current that, by turn, is rectified by a the detection of the ISHE voltage, as well as, for reference, as a
semiconductor diode22 . Another recently discovered way is based conventional inductive probe. In the bottom panels of Fig. 3a, both
on the combination of two physical effects: spin pumping (SP) and the a.c. and the d.c. signals produced by a 50-ns-long spin-wave
the inverse spin Hall effect (ISHE). In 2002, Tserkovnyak et al.67 pulse are shown. One can clearly see that the ISHE voltage appears
showed theoretically that magnetization precession in a magnetic with a delay of 200 ns determined by the spin-wave propagation
film will generate a spin-polarized electric current in an attached time between the antenna and the detector. The ISHE nature of
non-magnetic metallic layer. This process manifests itself in the the d.c. signal is evidenced by the fact that the inversion of the
increase in damping of a magnonic system67,98,99 . Electrical detection direction of a biasing magnetic field results in a switching of

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NATURE PHYSICS DOI: 10.1038/NPHYS3347 REVIEW ARTICLE
a Magnon source Input 2 b c tor
30 nm sis
tran

nm
n Dr
Hrf gno Gate ain

0
27
I Ma
A
Py
1
nic
10 nm
Output
Outpu
no
0
Input 1 So
urc ag stal
Current
A
e M ry
c
XNOR conducting wire
NOT gate
0
=1 1
1
=1 0
0
=1 0
1
=1 1
f = 18 GHz 1 Logic ‘1’ (>2/3)
0 0 1 1 J=0 A
I

Drain magnon
(A m−2) Logic ‘0’
In-phase 0.1 (<1/3)

density
Mz/Ms (%)
‘1’ G
Output signal

−0.5 0.5 In Out D

I A 0.01
2 × 1011 S
‘0’ 1 0
0 1 0.001
350 400 450 500 350 400 450 500 350 400 450 500 350 400 450 500 Out-of-phase 1 10 100
Time (ns)
Gate magnon density nG (mW)
d e Majority gate
I1
XOR I1 I2 I3 = Ic O
I1 I2 O 0 0 0 0
I1 I2 O
1 0 0 0
S1 G1 D1 0 0 0 I3 AND
0 1 0 0

Magnetization
Magnon O 0 1 1 +z 1 1 0 1
transistors λ
1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
S2 G2 D2
−z 1 0 1 1
+π/2 +π/2 1 1 0 OR
20 22 24 26 28 30 0 1 1 1
I2 x-position (μm)
1 1 1 1

Figure 4 | Magnon-based processing of binary data. a, Spin-wave XNOR logic gate based on a Mach–Zehnder interferometer with electric
current-controlled phase shifters10,47 . The bottom panel shows the output pulsed spin-wave signals measured for different combinations of the input d.c.
signals. b, Nanosized Mach–Zehnder spin-wave interferometer designed in the form of a bifurcated Py conduit girdling a vertical conducting wire (adapted
from ref. 11). The simulation of a NOT logic operation is shown below for two different d.c. currents, which correspond to the logic ‘0’ and ‘1’ inputs,
respectively. c, Operational principle of a magnon transistor7 : the source-to-drain magnon current (blue spheres) is nonlinearly scattered by gate magnons
(red spheres) injected into the gate region. The spatial localization and, as a consequence, a high density of the gate magnons is provided by a magnonic
crystal. The measured drain magnon density is presented in the bottom panel. d, All-magnon chip proposed for XOR logic operation. The magnon densities
sent to the transistor sources S1 and S2 are controlled by the input magnon signals I1 and I2 applied to the gates zG1 and G2 . In the case when both input
signals are ‘0’, the output signal is also ‘0’ owing to destructive interference. The application of the magnon signal to only one of the gates switches off one
of the source-to-drain currents and results in the ‘1’ output. Finally, switching off both currents results in the output ‘0’—see the truth table. e, Majority gate
operating with data coded into the spin-wave phase17 . The colour map represents the spin-wave amplitude for the case of equal input phases. The majority
gate can perform OR and AND logic operations (also NOR and NAND if the read-out position is shifted by λ/2) if one of its inputs is used as a control input
IC —see the truth table.

the voltage polarity106 —see the figure. In the same experiment, probe was used to measure the ISHE voltage at different points of a
it was also demonstrated that the spin-pumping efficiency does sample are shown in Fig. 3c.
not depend on the spin-wave wavelength70 . d’Allivy Kelly et al. To summarize, the combined SP-ISHE mechanism allows
have used a similar experimental set-up to demonstrate the simple conversion of magnon currents into charge currents. It
ISHE detection of propagating magnons in a nanometre-thick was demonstrated that magnons, independently of their nature
YIG film53 . (exchange or dipolar) and characteristics (wavelengths, frequencies,
Recently, the combined SP-ISHE mechanism has opened doors velocities, and so on), efficiently contribute to spin pumping.
for access to short-wavelength exchange magnons69 . The short- Moreover, the SP-ISHE detection technique is of crucial importance
wavelength regime is of particular interest for nanosize magnonic for the miniaturization of magnonic devices as it is sensitive to
applications. To excite exchange magnons, a parallel parametric magnons of very small wavelengths that cannot be detected by
pumping technique can be used22,57,69 —see Fig. 3b. By variation microwave and optical methods69 . The conversion efficiency is large
of the bias magnetic field, the magnon spectrum is shifted up or enough for the realization of first demonstrators, but needs to be
down to tune the magnon wavelength (see inner panel in Fig. 3b). improved for device applications.
The spin-pumping-induced ISHE voltage is shown in the bottom
panel of Fig. 3b. One can see that magnons effectively contribute Magnon-based data processing
to the spin pumping in a wide range of wavelengths (down to In the previous sections, we discussed interconnections between
100 nm in ref. 69). Follow-up studies by Kurebayashi et al.107 , where magnon-based units and electronic circuits. However, the main
parallel and perpendicular parametric pumping techniques were strength of magnon spintronics lies in the benefits provided by
used for the magnon injection, have evidenced that the spin- the wave nature of magnons for data processing and computation.
pumping efficiency is independent of the magnon wavelength In the past, the application area of spin waves was mostly related
within experimental error. to analogue signal processing in the microwave frequency range.
Magnetostatic surface spin waves show nonreciprocal behaviour Microwave filters, delay lines, phase conjugators, power limiters and
(see Box 1). The propagation direction of these waves can be amplifiers are just a few examples5,6 . Nowadays, new technologies,
reversed by a change in the polarity of the bias magnetic field30 . As allowing, for example, the fabrication of nanometre-sized structures
a result, the ISHE voltage induced by the MSSWs depends on the or operation in the THz frequency range, in combination with novel
field orientation108 . Results of experimental studies where an electric physical phenomena, provide new momentum to the field and make

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REVIEW ARTICLE NATURE PHYSICS DOI: 10.1038/NPHYS3347

Box 2 | Artificial magnetic materials—magnonic crystals—for data transfer and processing.

Magnonic crystals are artificial magnetic media with a a 0 π /a 2π /a 3π /a 4π /a

periodic variation of their magnetic properties in space. Bragg 12
scattering affects the spin-wave spectrum of such a structure. Band gap

Frequency (GHz)
This leads to the formation of bandgaps—regions of the spin- 10
wave spectrum in which spin-wave propagation is prohibited Band gap
(see right panels in Fig. B1a and b). Consequently, areas between 8
bandgaps allow selective spin-wave propagation22,46,110,111 , whereas 1 μm
1 μm
the pronounced changes of the spin-wave dispersion near the 6
bandgap edges open access to the formation of bandgap solitons115 ,
0.000 0.008 0.016 0.024
deceleration of spin waves and the appearance of confined
Wavenumber (nm−1)
spin-wave modes37 .
The wide variety of parameters, which define the characteris- b 1 Reference
1.5 μm

intensity (a.u.)
tics of spin waves in a magnetic film, results in a variety of possible waveguide

Spin-wave
designs of magnonic crystals111 . For example, magnonic crystals 0.1

a = 1 μm
w0 = 2.5 μm
Magnonic
can be constructed using two different magnetic materials (bi- crystal
0.01
component magnonic crystals116 )—see Fig. B1a. Other examples 0.25 μm
Band gap
are spin-wave conduits with periodic variations of their width
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
(Fig. B1b)117 , thickness22,118 , saturation magnetization119 , periodic
Frequency f (GHz)
dot or anti-dot lattices46,51,120 , and arrays of interacting magnetic
strips (Fig. B1c)110,111 . c a mx k = π /a
Initially, periodic magnetic structures were used as Bragg
12 n=2
mirrors in microwave filters, resonators and generators121 . n=1
10
Nowadays, the interest for magnonic crystals is much broader. In 8 FMO

Frequency (GHz)
particular, magnonic crystals are used for guiding spin waves46,111 , 6 n=0
as generators122 , magnetic field sensors123 , power limiters39 , and x
2a 12 n=2
mx
for short-time data buffers37,124 . 10 n=1
Δ=0 AFO
Reconfigurable magnonic crystals, whose properties 8
n=0
can be changed on demand111,112 , attract special attention. 6
Figure B1c represents a magnonic crystal in the form of 0 39 78 117 156
an array of parallel- or anti-parallel-magnetized magnetic x Wavenumber (103 rad cm−1)
strips. The chosen magnetization state defines the lattice
d
constant of the crystal and, thus, the spin-wave dispersion (see 6,510

frequency (MHz)
right panel). Very recently, we have demonstrated that any 2D AS(t)

Reflected
field
magnetization pattern in a magnetic film can be reconfigurably AR(t) Biasing AT(t) 6,500
created by laser-induced heating125 .
Change in the properties of a crystal open access to novel 6,490
a
physics if these changes occur on a timescale shorter than the I0(t) 6,490 6,500 6,510
spin-wave propagation time across the crystal (dynamic magnonic
Input signal frequency (MHz)
crystal). The first dynamic magnonic crystal was realized in the
form of a YIG conduit placed in a time-dependent spatially
Figure B1 | Realizations of magnonic crystals. a, One-dimensional
periodic magnetic field. The field was induced by a pulsed d.c.
magnonic crystal in the form of an array of alternating Py and Co
current sent through a meander-type conducting structure placed nanostripes and the structure of magnon bandgaps measured by BLS
nearby the conduit surface and could be changed on a timescale spectroscopy116 . b, Magnonic crystal designed as a Py conduit with a
below 10 ns (ref. 113). It has been shown that this dynamic periodically varying width, and spin-wave spectra of this crystal and of a
magnonic crystal can perform a set of spectral transformations uniform reference conduit117 . c, Reconfigurable magnonic crystal in the
such as frequency inversion and time reversal126 . The right panel of form of an array of bi-stable magnetic nanowires and spin-wave spectra
Fig. B1d demonstrates that frequencies of the spin wave reflected obtained for ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic nanowires orders111,112 .
from the dynamic crystal are inverted relative to the frequencies d, Schematics of a dynamic magnonic crystal in the form of a
of the input waves. Recently, Nikitin et al.114 created a dynamic current-carrying meander structure positioned close to the surface of a
magnonic crystal on the base of a width-modulated YIG strip and YIG conduit126 . A two-dimensional map of the reflected signal spectra as
used it for the realization of logic operations. a function of the incident signal frequency is shown on the right.

the advantages discussed in Box 1 accessible for both analogue and data processing. Furthermore, reconfigurable111,112,125 and dynamic
digital data processing. magnonic crystals113,114 demonstrate potential for the realization of
In this respect, artificial magnetic materials with properties universal data processing units, which can perform different data
periodically varied in space, known as magnonic crystals109 , are operations on demand (see Box 2)115–126 .
especially promising for controlling and manipulating the magnon Magnons have potential for the implementation of alternative
currents—see Box 2. Similarly to photonic crystals operated with computing concepts such as non-Boolean computing14,15 , reversible
light, magnonic crystals use the wave nature of magnons to obtain logic overcoming the Landauer limit of energy consumption18,19 ,
magnon propagation characteristics that are inaccessible by any artificial neural networks127 , and, more general, projecting optical
other means (see reviews22,46,110,111 ). This allows one to combine one- computing concepts9 onto the nanometre scale; these directions are
and two-dimensional magnon waveguiding with magnon-based still in the early stages of their development. As an introduction

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NATURE PHYSICS DOI: 10.1038/NPHYS3347 REVIEW ARTICLE
to these developments we address standard logic operations with majority gate can perform AND, OR, NAND and NOR logic
digital binary data that are at present the subject of intensive the- operations if one of its three inputs serves as a control input. The
oretical and experimental studies. The idea of encoding binary majority gate (similar to the magnon transistor) is suitable for the
data into the spin-wave amplitude was first stated by Kostylev and construction of all-magnon chips and allows a substantial decrease
colleagues128 . It was proposed to use a Mach–Zehnder spin-wave of the device footprint12,15–17 . For example, to build a full adder, one
interferometer equipped with current-controlled phase shifters em- needs only three majority gates instead of 28 transistors in CMOS.
bedded in the interferometer arms to construct logic gates. Follow- The majority gate operates with linear spin waves having amplitudes
ing this idea, Schneider et al. realized the proof-of-principle XNOR down to the thermal level and, thus, can reach an extremely low
logic gate shown in Fig. 4a10 . The currents applied to Input 1 and energy consumption down to 10−20 J per bit (estimated for a single
Input 2 represent logic inputs: the current-on state, which results in bit carried by a 5-ns-long spin-wave packet).
a π-phase shift of the spin wave in the respective interferometer arm,
corresponds to logic ‘1’; the current-off state corresponds to logic Outlook
‘0’. The logic output is defined by the interference of microwave cur- Despite recent advances, the field of magnon spintronics has many
rents induced by the spin waves in the output microstrip antennas: a challenges remaining, both in physical and technological aspects47 .
small amplitude level (destructive interference) corresponds to logic Most of the advantages discussed in Box 1, including sub-100 nm
‘0’, and a high amplitude level (constructive interference) defines and low-THz magnonics, are just behind the current level of realiza-
logic ‘1’. The change in the magnitude of the output pulsed signal for tion, but should be within reach in the next few years. However, it is
different combinations of the logic inputs (see Fig. 4a) corresponds not possible to predict which of the research directions will be the
to the XNOR logic functionality10 . It was also shown that an electric most successful. All of them aim for low-energy means of magnon
current can create a magnetic barrier, reducing or even stopping the excitation, manipulation and detection on the nanometre scale,
spin-wave transmission. Using this effect a universal NAND logic which, by turn, will have great potential for computing applications.
gate was realized10 . New low-loss magnetic materials, which will allow a decrease in
Lee et al.11 have proposed an alternative design of a nanometre- the energy consumption of magnonic devices, are of high priority;
sized logic gate—see Fig. 4b. In this device, the spin-wave phases are as are novel means for damping compensation, which will enable
controlled via a d.c. current flowing through a vertical wire placed long-distance magnonic currents to be realized. Furthermore, recent
between the interferometer arms. This d.c. current defines the logic discoveries have given rise to new sub-fields of magnonics. Only
input, whereas the amplitude of the output spin wave defines the the very first steps have been made so far towards the utilization
logic output. The ability to create NOT, NOR and NAND logic gates of heat-assisted effects in magnon spintronics such as the spin
was demonstrated using numerical simulations. Seebeck effect95 . To name a few others, Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya in-
The drawback of the discussed logic gates is that it is impossible teractions129–132 , micro- and macroscopic quantum effects42,44,131,132 ,
to combine two logic gates without additional magnon-to-voltage and low-energy control and excitation of magnons with electric
and voltage-to-magnon converters. This fact, in combination with fields133,134 are also subjects of accelerating research. The develop-
relatively weak efficiencies of the existing converters, stimulates the ment of alternative concepts for post-CMOS computing, as well as
search for a means to control a magnon current by another magnon the combination of magnon computing with data storage135 look
current. Recently, it has been demonstrated that such control is promising. The interactions of spin waves with domain walls136 and
possible owing to nonlinear magnon–magnon scattering, and a skyrmions137,138 attracting much interest in this context. Magnon
magnon transistor allowing all-magnon data processing has been spintronics is therefore an active, emergent field that could deliver a
realized7 —see Fig. 4c. In this three-terminal device, the density number of breakthrough developments towards application in data
of the magnon current flowing from the source to the drain (see processing in the near future.
blue spheres in the figure) is controlled by the magnons injected
into the gate of the transistor (red spheres). The magnonic crystal Received 18 January 2015; accepted 21 April 2015;
in the form of an array of surface grooves118 is used to increase published online 2 June 2015
the density of the gate magnons and, consequently, to enhance the
efficiency of the nonlinear four-magnon scattering process used to
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