Low-damping spin-wave propagation in a micro-structured Co2Mn0.6Fe0.4Si Heusler waveguide

We report on the investigation of spin-wave propagation in a micro-structured Co2Mn0.6Fe0.4Si (CMFS) Heusler waveguide. The reduced magnetic losses of this compound compared to the commonly used Ni81Fe19, allow for the observation of spin-wave propagation over distances as high as 75 mu m via Brillouin light scattering (BLS) microscopy. In the linear regime, a maximum decay length of 16.7 mu m of the spin-wave amplitude was found. The coherence length of the observed spin-wave modes was estimated to be at least 16 mu m via phase-resolved BLS techniques. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3693391]