
ICARUS
Non-reciprocity is of great interest for developing compact, integrated RF isolators and circulators that go beyond bulky solutions based on Faraday rotation in ferrites. These are valuable tools for both current communication systems and future quantum systems. Two approaches can be considered to manipulate the Parity-Time (PT) symmetry in spin cavitronics, which can lead to a non-reciprocal behavior.
- The first one is based on the introduction of a chiral coupling between magnons and photons,
- While the second is based on the ability to tune between (and combine) conservative and dissipative coupling regimes and to use antiresonances.
ICARUS has two objectives. On the fundamental side, we will study the control conditions of PT symmetry in coherent and dissipative spin cavitronics devices. On the applied side, we aim at realizing new concepts of RF isolators and circulators using the non-reciprocity of spin cavitronics devices. Finally, we will extend these approaches from the X-bands (8-12 GHz) to the W-bands (75-110 GHz), moving from well-known garnet-based ferrimagnetics to unexplored antiferromagnetic materials.
The spin-cavitronic
Spin-cavitronics (also cavity spintronics or cavity magnonics) is an emerging research field that investigates light-matter interactions within magnetism, specifically the interactions between cavity photons and magnons, the quanta of spin waves based on the magnetic dipole interaction. At the core of spin-cavitronics are cavity-magnon polaritons (CMPs) which are the associated bosonic quasiparticles to hybridized cavity-magnon-photon states in the strong coupling regime. These promising new hybrid systems, based on CMPs, offer a new way to transmit and process information.
Description of the ICARUS project
The main purpose of ICARUS is to introduce new concepts and material paradigm in spin-cavitronics, whilst technologically exploit their relevance for non-reciprocal RF devices. For this purpose, ICARUS will aim at providing an overview of the approaches to control PT symmetry in spin-cavitronics. These objectives require to gather the expertise in spin-cavitronics at (IMT Atlantique/Thales), RF modeling and design at IMT Atlantique/Elliptika and the expertise in AFMs at Thales. Exploiting these fundamental concepts, ICARUS will provide a pathway for more compact and integrated nonreciprocal devices, which would benefit both signal processing and noise cancelling for conventional processing.
The project is built around four (4) scientific workpackages (WP). WP1 is dedicated to the study of systems in coherent regime, WP2 to the coherent/dissipative regime, WP3 to the frequency rise, and WP4 to the construction of a complete simulation tool allowing to design all the systems considered in WP1, 2 and 3.
Impacts of the ICARUS project
During the project and right after its completion, ICARUS will directly have a significant short- and long-term impact on several scientific fields as specified here after.
- Magnonics : The strong magnon-photon interaction allows to establish another tool to gain insight into the system’s magnetization dynamics of different magnetic materials which can host spin wave modes. By the new insight in non-Hermitian physics and PT-symmetry ICARUS will contribute to extend the field of magnonics towards these areas, which can be, for instance a new resource for “classical” quantum computing, when operating at room temperature.
- Antiferromagnetic spintronics : ICARUS will provide new perspectives to achieve strong coupling between AFM magnons and photons, together with enabling the observation and the stabilization of singularities points that remain unexplored in antiferromagnetic systems. ICARUS will thus shed a new light on the dynamics of antiferromagnetic systems, and how one could integrate them in hybrid systems.
- Hybrid systems : Currently, quantum magnonics relies on the indirect (conservative) coupling of magnons and qubits via the cavity photons which acts as a “data bus”. The new understanding and control provided by ICARUS on the magnon-photon interaction will allow to generalize conservative and dissipative coupling and a combination of the two- to generic hybrid systems. In this context, it can pave the way for dissipative quantum magnonics or dissipative cavity optomagnonics, for instance.
Roles of the partners
IMT Atlantique will coordinate the project ICARUS. They have a strong expertise in design and simulation of hybrid system (magnon-photon), 3D printing, and in the experimental development of microwave setup at RT. These setups permit to characterize the frequency dependence of cavities response as function of the magnetic field. IMT Atlantique will lead WP1 and WP5 and the task on the modelling toolbox in WP4. The project relies on the complementary expertise of the partners and on current collaborations.
THALES RT :
Thales has extensive expertise in the development and study of RF spintronic and magnonic devices. Thales will lead WP2 and WP3 as well as the calibration activities on non-reciprocal devices in WP4. Thales will also contribute to the EM modeling of the devices, which is essential for device optimization.
Elliptika :
Elliptika has extensive experience in innovative 3D prototype development and metallization of plastic parts for RF applications, as well as 2D/2.5D resonator fabrication. Their knowledge will enable the fabrication of unconventional cavity geometries (from 3D to 2D, closed and open). Elliptika will lead WP4.