Cavity magnonics deals with the interaction of magnons — elementary excitations in magnetic materials — and confined electromagnetic fields. We introduce the basic physics and review the experimental and theoretical progress of this young field that is gearing up for integration in future quantum technologies. Much of its appeal is derived from the strong magnon–photon coupling and the easily-reached nonlinear regime in microwave cavities. The interaction of magnons with light as detected by Brillouin light scattering is enhanced in magnetic optical resonators, which can be employed to cool and heat magnons. The microwave cavity photon-mediated coupling of a magnon mode to a superconducting qubit enables measurements in the single magnon limit.

Inelastic scattering of photons is a promising technique to manipulate magnons but it suffers from weak intrinsic coupling. We theoretically discuss an idea to increase optomagnonic coupling in optical whispering gallery mode cavities by generalizing a previous analysis to include the exchange interaction. We predict that the optomagnonic coupling constant to surface magnons in yttrium iron garnet (YIG) spheres with radius 300μm can be up to 40 times larger than that to the macrospin Kittel mode. Whereas this enhancement falls short of the requirements for magnon manipulation in pure YIG, nanostructuring and/or materials with larger magneto-optical constants can bridge this gap.