Spin wave excitations in exchange-coupled [Co/Pd]-NiFe films with tunable tilting of the magnetization

Brillouin light scattering was applied to measure the evolution of spin waves in exchange-coupled [Co/Pd]-NiFe films with out-of-plane/in-plane magnetic anisotropy. Tunable tilting of the magnetization has important effects on the spin wave frequency gap: a substantial increase is observed with decreasing the soft NiFe thickness, while seemingly insignificant tilting angles cause a strong reduction with respect to a film with only the hard [Co/Pd] component. The spin wave frequency is reproduced also in samples, with increased thickness of the upper Pd layer, where a sudden modification in the tilting at the hard/soft interface is caused by the weakening of interlayer exchange.