Modification of edge mode dynamics by oxidation in Ni80Fe20 thin film edges

We use "edge mode" ferromagnetic resonance to probe the magnetic properties of oxidized Ni80Fe20 (Py) nanostripe edges. The oxidation is carried out using either oxygen plasma or thermal annealing in an oxygen ambient. We find that for both treatments the edge saturation field decreases systematically with increasing oxidation due to reduced magnetization near the edges. However, the change of effective out-of-plane anisotropy field shows opposite trends for these two oxidation methods. Micromagnetic simulations suggest that thermally annealed samples may have an additional reduction in the bulk magnetization, possibly due to a compositional change in Py stripes. The two distinct oxidation profiles also result in different changes in resonance linewidth; we find little damping change for plasma treatment but an enhanced effective damping for thermal annealing. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3393966]