Kepaptsoglou, Demie orcid.org/0000-0003-0499-0470, Castellanos-Reyes, José Ángel, Kerrigan, Adam et al. (9 more authors) (2025) Magnon spectroscopy in the electron microscope. Nature. ISSN: 1476-4687
Abstract
The miniaturization of transistors is approaching its limits owing to challenges in heat management and information transfer speed1. To overcome these obstacles, emerging technologies such as spintronics2 are being developed, which make use of the electron’s spin as well as its charge. Local phenomena at interfaces or structural defects will greatly influence the efficiency of spin-based devices, making the ability to study spin-wave propagation at the nanoscale and atomic scale a key challenge3,4. The development of high-spatial-resolution tools to investigate spin waves, also called magnons, at relevant length scales is thus essential to understand how their properties are affected by local features. Here we detect bulk THz magnons at the nanoscale using scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). By using high-resolution electron energy-loss spectroscopy with hybrid-pixel electron detectors, we overcome the challenges posed by weak signals to map THz magnon excitations in a thin NiO nanocrystal. Advanced inelastic electron scattering simulations corroborate our findings. These results open new avenues for detecting magnons and exploring their dispersions and their modifications arising from nanoscale structural or chemical defects. This marks a milestone in magnonics and presents exciting opportunities for the development of spintronic devices.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) 2025 |
Keywords: | electron microscopy,electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS),Magnonics,spin dynamics |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Physics (York) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number EPSRC EP/V048767/1 THE ROYAL SOCIETY IES\R1\211016 EPSRC EP/Y026918/1 / APP10618 / EP/Z531194/1 |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 23 Jul 2025 16:00 |
Last Modified: | 30 Jul 2025 04:20 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09318-y |
Status: | Published online |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1038/s41586-025-09318-y |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:229595 |
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Description: Magnon spectroscopy in the electron microscope
Licence: CC-BY 2.5