Spatiotemporal imaging of microwave magnetic fields via magnonic coherent splitting

Abstract

Spatiotemporal microwave magnetic-field imaging reveals current flow in high-frequency circuits and nonequilibrium spin dynamics, yet probes rarely combine calibrated spectral readout, optics-free operation and transient mapping at room temperature. Here ferrimagnetic order in yttrium iron garnet supports coherent coupling from a pump-induced magnon mode, converting target-field amplitude into a spectral splitting with all-microwave readout. Sampling the calibrated splitting over position and delay reconstructs spatiotemporal imaging of magnetic fields. Continuous-wave measurement reaches a sensitivity of 58 pT/$\sqrt{\mathrm{Hz}}$ and recovers phases across various powers. Combined with time-resolved frequency-comb spectroscopy, the method reconstructs transient fields with a 130-ns response time. Coplanar-waveguide imaging validates the magnetic selectivity of the mode-splitting readout, where measured maps agree with simulated magnetic-field distribution. In a microwave amplifier, our reconstruction resolves nonuniform switching dynamics and detects downstream field suppression from an open-contact fault. Magnonic coherent splitting provides a scalable route for optics-free imaging of spatiotemporal field evolution in functional devices.