Damping constant of Co/Pt multilayer thin-film media

Gilbert's damping constants, α, of Co(tCo)/Pt (1.4 nm) multilayer thin films are investigated by Q-band FMR analysis. α is calculated from the resonance width of the FMR spectrum. With decreasing tCo, the α value decreases from 0.034 (tCo=8.7 nm) to 0.023 (tCo=1.8 nm), and then increases to 0.037 (tCo=1.0 nm). The decrease of α with tCo>1.8 nm is probably due to the eddy current loss effects. The increase of α with tCo<1.8 nm would be caused by the increase of the distortion between the Co and the Pt layers at the interface. When the magnetic field direction was changed from θ=90° (parallel to the specimen) to θ=0° (perpendicular to the specimen), the α of all the specimens increased, and a sharp step in α was observed around θ=40°, where the α has the maximum value.