Propagation characteristics of magnetostatic waves: A review

This paper reviews the propagation characteristics of guided magnetostatic waves (MSW's) in a YIG film magnetized beyond saturation. There exist three guided magnetostatic wave-types, viz., magnetostatic surface waves (MSSW's) and magnetostatic forward and backward volume waves (MSFVW's and MSBVW's). The orientation of the internal bias field determines the particular wave-type that can be supported by the YIG film. The frequency spectrum of the volume waves coincides with that over which magnetostatic plane waves are of the homogeneous variety. The frequency spectrum of the MSSW's is located immediately above the MSVW spectrum. MSW's are dispersive, with the dispersion properties alterable through modification in boundary conditions. The most explored dispersion control technique employs the placement of a ground plane somewhat above the YIG film surface. This dispersion control technique, which provides one method of realizing nondispersive MSW propagation, raises the upper bound of the MSSW spectrum but does not affect the bounds of the MSVW spectrum. Numerical computations illustrating the dispersion and polarization characteristics of MSW's are presented.