Effect of pulsed optical heating on magnetostatic wave propagation in ferrite film

The effective control of magnetostatic spin wave propagation in yttrium-iron-garnet films using illumination of the film with optical pulses has been demonstrated. Heating of the film by 17/spl deg/C followed by a decrease of the film magnetization of up to 13% was obtained for optical pulses with energy of 0.2 J and duration of 2-5 ms. Variation of the wave frequency by 55 MHz, change of the wave number by tens of percent, and increase of the wave delay time from 60 to 150 ns were observed. These effects may find applications in the development of optically controlled microwave devices.