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We study the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) of the CoFeB/MgO bilayers in contact with W, Ta, IrMn, and Ti, which have been suggested for use as the spin–orbit-torque-related underlayers. The saturation magnetization of CoFeB depends on the underlayer material used owing to the formation of a dead layer that affects the PMA strength of each film. The X-ray magnetic circular dichroism measurement reveals that interfacial intermixing suppresses only the perpendicular orbital moment of Fe, whereas it simultaneously suppresses both the perpendicular and in-plane orbital moments of Co.

We report the effects of Ar sputtering pressure on perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in disordered CoPt alloys via the modulation of stacking fault density. The coercivity and anisotropy field of CoPt alloys are gradually enlarged with an increase in Ar sputtering pressure from 3 mTorr to 30 mTorr. Structural analyses using transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and x-ray reflectivity show that the structural properties of the samples, such as roughness or grain size, are not significantly changed by variations in Ar sputtering pressure. On the other hand, in-plane x-ray diffraction measurements reveal that the stacking fault density is reduced in films grown under higher pressure, and instead favors HCP stacking. Our results suggest that perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in CoPt alloys can be enhanced by the growth of the sample under a high Ar sputtering pressure, which decreases stacking fault density.

We investigate the temperature dependence of the spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) in a W/CoFeB bilayer. The SMR is found to increase with decreasing temperature. An analysis based on the SMR theory suggests that the spin Hall angle of W and/or the spin polarization of CoFeB can be the origin of the temperature dependence of the SMR. We also find that the spin diffusion length and the resistivity of W do not significantly vary with temperature, which indicates the necessity of further study on the electron transport mechanism in W films to reveal the origin of the spin Hall effect in W.

We studied the intrinsic and extrinsic Gilbert damping constants measured with an all-optical method in an exchange-biased IrMn/Cu/CoFe trilayer system with various Cu-spacer layer thicknesses. To understand the effect of the exchange bias on damping, the strength of the exchange bias was controlled by the Cu-spacer layer. When the external magnetic field is high enough compared with the exchange fields, the intrinsic Gilbert damping constant is independent of the exchange bias field. On the other hand, under a low external magnetic field, the extrinsic Gilbert damping is dominant because of the magnetic inhomogeneities, and is strongly correlated with the exchange bias field.

The magnetization dynamics of perpendicularly magnetized FePt films is studied using both magnetic-field-induction and all-optical methods. A critically damped trajectory was observed in this system, where the precession ended within subnanoseconds after a single large oscillation. Using the Landau?Lifshitz?Gilbert (LLG) calculation with an experimental configuration, the effective anisotropy and damping constant were obtained. A damping constant of approximately 0.2 was determined after both a magnetic field and a laser pulse were used. The laser-induced real-space trajectory was well explained by the modified LLG calculation taking into account the demagnetization and time-dependent anisotropy.