Confinement quantization of parallel pump instability threshold in a metallic ferromagnetic stripe

Lateral quantization of an excitation in a confined geometry is shown to lead to multiple cutoff thresholds for parametric processes. This idea is illustrated with a calculation of parallel pump instability thresholds for a ferromagnetic metallic stripe. The lateral quantization by the strip geometry results in thresholds which change discontinuously with increasing stripe width. Magnetostatic interactions create a secondary fine structure of kinks on the threshold curve. This effect should be possible to detect experimentally and be used for precise measurement of microwave losses in patterned magnetic metals. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.