Study of photon–magnon coupling in a YIG-film split-ring resonant system

Abstract

By using the stripline Microwave Vector–Network Analyser Ferromagnetic Resonance and Time Domain spectroscopy techniques, we study a strong coupling regime of magnons to microwave photons in the planar geometry of a lithographically formed split-ring resonator (SRR) loaded by a single-crystal epitaxial yttrium–iron–garnet (YIG) film. Strong anti-crossing of the photon modes of SRR and of the magnon modes of the YIG film is observed in the applied-magnetic-field resolved measurements. The coupling strength extracted from the experimental data reaches 9% at 3 GHz. Theoretically, we propose an equivalent circuit model of the SRR loaded by a magnetic film. This model follows from the results of our numerical simulations of the microwave field structure of the SRR and of the magnetisation dynamics in the YIG film driven by the microwave currents in the SRR. The results obtained with the equivalent-circuit model are in good agreement with the experiment. This model provides a simple physical explanation of the process of mode anti-crossing. Our findings are important for future applications in microwave quantum photonic devices as well as in nonlinear and magnetically tuneable metamaterials exploiting the strong coupling of magnons to microwave photons.