Modulation of Electromagnetic Damping and Charge–Spin Conversion in Pt/Py100−xGdx Heterostructure

Permalloy (Py) is a crucial component in spin nano-oscillators due to its excellent soft magnetic properties. Due to orbital angular momentum quenching, Py exhibits very low magnetic damping. It reduces intrinsic energy dissipation during precession, which is beneficial for lowering operational power consumption and enhancing the thermal stability of certain memory devices. But lower magnetic damping limits its application in fast-switching spintronic devices. Thus, in this work, the rare earth element Gd is introduced into Py to further enhance the spintronic performance of Py100−xGdx alloys. Through spin-torque ferromagnetic resonance measurements (ST-FMRs), the maximum spin Hall angle of the system was calculated to be 0.149 when x = 20, significantly exceeding that of 0.042 in the pure Py sample. Additionally, Gd doping significantly enhances the ability to modulate the magnitude of the linewidth. Also, as the Gd content in the alloy increased, the magnetic damping coefficient of the device gradually rose, reaching a peak in the sample with 17% Gd content. The maximum magnetic damping coefficient of the Py-Gd alloy was 0.051, representing an approximate 2.4-fold increase compared to that of pure Py. The findings of this study confirm that the use of rare-earth elements is highly effective in tuning the performance of spintronic devices and provide support for the development of highly efficient SOT devices. It is noted that the regulation of magnetic damping by Py-Gd holds significant implications for enhancing the magnetization switching speed of SOT devices and reducing the drive current density for microwave emission in spin nano-oscillators.