Reconfigurable magnonic crystal consisting of periodically distributed domain walls in a nanostrip

Abstract

We study spin wave propagation in a new type of magnonic crystal consisting of a series of periodically distributed magnetic domain walls in a nanostrip by micromagnetic simulation. Spin wave bands and bandgaps are observed in frequency spectra and dispersion curves. Some bandgaps are caused by the Bragg reflection of the spin wave modes at the Brillouin zone boundaries, while others originate from the coupling between different incident and reflected spin wave modes. The control of the spin wave band structure by changing the magnetocrystalline anisotropy or applying an external magnetic field is studied. Increasing the magnetocrystalline anisotropy leads to an increase of the bandgaps. The external field applied perpendicular to the nanostrip gives rise to a doubling of the domain-wall magnonic crystal period. As a result, more bandgaps appear on the frequency spectra of propagating spin waves. The results presented here may find their use in the design of reconfigurable magnonic devices.