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Spin-pumping in Pt/Py heterostructures: The role of Al spacer layers

Verena Ney1, Kilian Lenz2, Fabrice Wilhelm3, René Hübner2, Fabian Ganss2, Robert Freynschlag1, Jürgen Lindner2, Andrei Rogalev3, and Andreas Ney1,*

  • *Contact author: andreas.ney@jku.at
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Phys. Rev. Materials 10, 075202 – Published 17 August, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/48tc-z3pd

Abstract

The magnetic damping of spin-pumping heterostructures consisting of Pt and Ni80Fe20 (Permalloy, Py) thin films is studied via temperature- and frequency-dependent ferromagnetic resonance (FMR). Additional magnetic and structural characterization is done by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), x-ray absorption spectroscopy, and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD). The frequency-dependence of the FMR linewidth allows to extract the Gilbert damping parameter α as a function of temperature. Py in direct contact with Pt exhibits a strong enhancement of α(T), and the dependence on the thickness of the Py layer suggests this to be an interfacial effect. The enhanced α(T) is accompanied by an induced magnetic polarization of the Pt as evidenced by XMCD, while the other magnetic properties of Py as measured with FMR and static magnetometry remain virtually unchanged. The increase of α(T) can be efficiently suppressed by the insertion of an Al-spacer layer between Pt and Py as thin as 1 nm, which coincides with the loss of the magnetic polarization of Pt.

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Phys. Rev. Materials 10, 075202– Published 17 August, 2026
  • Received 2 June 2026
  • Accepted 29 July 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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