2015 年 39 巻 1 号 p. 1-7
Magnetic films with high perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) are crucial for developing gigabit spin-transfer-torque magnetic random access memory, making it practically important to investigate Gilbert damping for various films exhibiting PMA. It is also interesting to explore the physics related to the spin-orbit interaction behind Gilbert damping in magnetic materials with strong spin-orbit interactions, as it is also a source of high magnetic anisotropy. In this paper, we review our optical studies on Gilbert damping for various PMA films and discuss the underlying physics.