Reflection of spin and spin-elastic waves at the interface of a ferromagnetic half-space

Abstract

This paper considers the reflection of pure spin and spin-elastic (or magneto-elastic) waves at the interface of a ferromagnetic half-space and a vacuum. For pure spin waves two cases are considered, with exchange effects, and without. It is shown that when exchange effects are taken into account, volume spin waves in the ferromagnetic half space incident at the boundary with the vacuum generate a reflected volume spin wave, and an accompanying compound surface wave propagating along the boundary and consisting of two partial inhomogeneous spin waves in the ferromagnetic half-space and a partial magneto-static inhomogeneous surface wave in the vacuum. When exchange effects are neglected the incident wave generates only a reflected volume wave in the ferromagnetic half-space. Reflection and transmission of spin-elastic (or magneto-elastic) waves has been considered only in the case of the absence of exchange effects. An incident volume wave generates a volume spin-elastic reflected wave and one inhomogeneous magneto-static accompanying surface wave. Excitations of the magnetic field are not transmitted into the vacuum in both cases when the exchange effect is neglected. In all cases the reflection of a spin wave has the character of a full internal reflection.