Calculation of Gilbert damping in ferromagnetic films

Abstract

The Gilbert damping constant in the phenomenological Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation which describes the dynamics of magnetization, is calculated for Fe, Co and Ni bulk ferromagnets, Co films and Co/Pd bilayers within a nine-band tight-binding model with spin-orbit coupling included. The calculational effciency is remarkably improved by introducing finite temperature into the electronic occupation factors and subsequent summation over the Matsubara frequencies. The calculated dependence of Gilbert damping constant on scattering rate for bulk Fe, Co and Ni is in good agreement with the results of previous ab initio calculations. Calculations are reported for ferromagnetic Co metallic films and Co/Pd bilayers. The dependence of the Gilbert damping constant on Co film thickness, for various scattering rates, is studied and compared with recent experiments.