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We determined the spin-transport properties of Pd and Pt thin films by measuring the increase in ferromagnetic resonance damping due to spin-pumping in ferromagnetic (FM)-nonferromagnetic metal (NM) multilayers with varying NM thicknesses. The increase in damping with NM thickness depends strongly on both the spin- and charge-transport properties of the NM, as modeled by diffusion equations that include both momentum- and spin-scattering parameters. We use the analytical solution to the spin-diffusion equations to obtain spin-diffusion lengths for Pt and Pd. By measuring the dependence of conductivity on NM thickness, we correlate the charge- and spin-transport parameters, and validate the applicability of various models for momentum-scattering and spin-scattering rates in these systems: constant, inverse-proportional (Dyakanov-Perel), and linear-proportional (Elliot-Yafet). We confirm previous reports that the spin-scattering time appears to be shorter than the momentum scattering time in Pt, and the Dyakanov-Perel-like model is the best fit to the data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spin dynamics of sub-100-nm Ni80Fe20 nanomagnets are directly measured using the magneto-optic Kerr effect and a broadband detection scheme. Elliptical dots approximately 68 nm in diameter and 10 nm thick were fabricated in 20×20 μm2 arrays. There is approximately a factor of 2 increase in the effective linewidth when compared to a 20 μm diameter continuous disk of the same material. Using micromagnetic simulations, we model the effect of dot-to-dot size variation on the effective linewidth and find that 2 nm size variations are more than sufficient to account for the effective increase in linewidth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structural and magnetic properties of epitaxial Co deposited on Au buffer layers are studied and compared with those of similar samples with one monolayer of Cr introduced at the Au/Co interface. The findings suggest that the in-plane nature of the interface anisotropy term for those samples with Cr was significant in determining their greater sensitivity to increased Co thickness.