Ultrastrong to nearly deep-strong magnon-magnon coupling with a high degree of freedom in synthetic antiferromagnets

Abstract

Ultrastrong and deep-strong coupling are two coupling regimes rich in intriguing physical phenomena. Recently, hybrid magnonic systems have emerged as promising candidates for exploring these regimes, owing to their unique advantages in quantum engineering. However, because of the relatively weak coupling between magnons and other quasiparticles, ultrastrong coupling is predominantly realized at cryogenic temperatures, while deep-strong coupling remains to be explored. In our work, we achieve both theoretical and experimental realization of room-temperature ultrastrong magnon-magnon coupling in synthetic antiferromagnets with intrinsic asymmetry of magnetic anisotropy. Unlike most ultrastrong coupling systems, where the counter-rotating coupling strength g₂ is strictly equal to the co-rotating coupling strength g₁, our systems allow for highly tunable g₁ and g₂. This high degree of freedom also enables the realization of normalized g₁ or g₂ larger than 0.5. Particularly, our experimental findings reveal that the maximum observed g₁ is nearly identical to the bare frequency, with g₁/ω₀ = 0.963, indicating a close realization of deep-strong coupling within our hybrid magnonic systems. Our results highlight synthetic antiferromagnets as platforms for exploring unconventional ultrastrong and even deep-strong coupling regimes, facilitating the further exploration of quantum phenomena.

Deep-strong coupling in hybrid magnonic systems is yet to be explored. Here, the authors unveil unconventional coupling properties in synthetic antiferromagnets. The systems’ high degree of freedom enables a near-realization of deep-strong coupling.