Nonreciprocal Spin-Wave Propagation in YIG/GGG: a Limit on the DMI Parameter

Materials with low damping, such as Yttrium Iron Garnet (YIG), are of interest in connection with spintronic devices. A promising structure for information storage is the Skyrmion, a domain wall quasi-particle. It has been shown that the stabilization of a Skyrmion can be energetically favorable with the addition of spin–orbit coupling (SOC) through the Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya Interaction (DMI). This interaction should be largest in metals, but still present in insulators. To produce spintronic devices using YIG, we must evaluate the DMI interaction inherent in the substrate used to grow the YIG, which is generally Gadolinium Gallium Garnet (GGG). In this paper, we measure nonreciprocal spin-wave propagation in a thick YIG film to place a limit on the DMI parameter in a YIG/GGG bilayer.