SoundSpin

Coupling sound, spin waves and angular momentum

SoundSpin explored how surface acoustic waves can generate, image and control magnetic excitations at frequencies from hundreds of megahertz to several gigahertz. A second strand investigated acoustic routes for generating spin accumulation and electrical signals.

Results documented during the project

• IDTs operating up to approximately 3 GHz and synchronised with the ALBA pulse structure.
• XPEEM sample excitation extended to 4 GHz.
• Resonant and off-resonant magnetoacoustic waves in Fe₃Si/GaAs.
• GHz magnetoacoustic dynamics in Ni and Co.
• Acoustically driven Néel-vector waves in CuMnAs.
• Directional thermal gradients and voltage signals generated under SAW excitation.
• Initial experiments on LSMO and the van der Waals magnet Cr₂Ge₂Te₆.

Research network and training

The project involved Alberto Hernández-Mínguez, Muhammad Waqas Khaliq and Marc Rovirola, and relied on close collaborations with the Paul-Drude-Institut, ALBA Synchrotron, NTNU and CNR-SPIN.

Continuity

SoundSpin converted the magnetoacoustic platform created in MAT2015-69144-P into a broad materials and device programme. Its results fed directly into SAW-MRAM and the acoustic-orbitronics strand of MAGO.

Publications resulting from the project

The list includes publications in which the project is explicitly identified in the acknowledgements or funding metadata.

1. Resonant and Off-Resonant Magnetoacoustic Waves in Epitaxial Fe₃Si/GaAs Hybrid Structures. Physical Review Applied 20, 034052 (2023). doi:10.1103/PhysRevApplied.20.034052
2. Study of the magnetoelastic effect in nickel and cobalt thin films at GHz range using x-ray microscopy. Physical Review Research 6, 023285 (2024). doi:10.1103/PhysRevResearch.6.023285
3. Néel vector waves in antiferromagnetic CuMnAs excited by surface acoustic waves. Physical Review Materials 8, 084406 (2024). doi:10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.8.084406
4. Magnetoacoustic waves in a highly magnetostrictive Fe₇₂Ga₂₈ thin film. APL Materials 13, 021112 (2025). doi:10.1063/5.0237699

Funding

Project PID2020-113024GB-I00 was funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033.

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