We study the magnetization damping in ion-beam deposited Co72Fe18B10 thin films as a function of film thickness and crystalline state. As-deposited amorphous layers showed low damping (αapp=0.006) that is thickness independent. 40nm Co80Fe20 with no boron content exhibited a value twice higher (αapp=0.013). Crystallization in Co72Fe18B10, triggered by annealing at 280°C, results in increased magnetization as well as a strong increase in damping, by a factor of 5 for 40nm films. For lower thicknesses the damping increase upon annealing is less pronounced. The exchange stiffness constant for amorphous films is deduced from perpendicular standing spin waves to be 28.4×10−12J∕m. The annealing dependence of damping should have consequences for the spin-transfer switching in CoFeB∕MgO∕CoFeB magnetic tunnel junctions.

We have carried out two-port network analyzer ferromagnetic resonance measurements on a coplanar waveguide. We present a detailed description on how to calculate from the raw measurement data a value proportional to the complex susceptibility and permittivity of the ferromagnetic material. Necessary corrections for errors due to imprecise sample placement on the waveguide and the sample dimensions are presented. Evaluated data up to 15 GHz are provided for two model samples: a 40 nm Co80Fe20 layer showing a large linewidth (≈900 MHz) and a 40 nm Co72Fe18B10 layer yielding a small linewidth (≈360 MHz). Using these experimental data the presented evaluation scheme based on all four scattering parameters is then compared to commonly used approximate evaluation schemes relying on only one S parameter. These approximate methods show close agreement for the ferromagnetic resonance frequencies (the relative error is below 1%). However, the resonance linewidths show a relative error that can reach 10% in comparison with the presented evaluation method.