Optical interaction with spin waves at turning point

Summary form only given. Bragg diffraction of light from magnetostatic waves in yttrium iron garnet (YIG) film has been investigated in recent years as potential candidates for applications to high speed light deflectors and switches. On the other hand, Bragg diffraction of infrared laser light from spin waves has been studied for three decades and found to be a useful tool in research on magnetoelastic propagation. This paper presents experiments of the optical interaction with spin waves (magnetostatic, magnetoelastic, and /spl omega//2 spin waves) in longitudinally magnetized YIG single crystal slabs and thick films, based on the principle of the turning point in nonuniform internal magnetic field due to the effect of demagnetization.