Relaxation mechanism in NiFe thin films driven by spin angular momentum absorption throughout the antiferromagnetic phase transition in native surface oxides

We report an alternative mechanism for the physical origin of the temperature-dependent ferromagnetic relaxation observed in bare permalloy (NiFe) thin films. Through spin-pumping experiments, we demonstrate that the peak in the temperature dependence of NiFe damping can be understood in terms of enhanced absorption of spin angular momentum at the magnetic phase transition in native antiferromagnetic surface-oxidized layers. These results suggest some avenues for the investigation of an incompletely understood phenomenon in physics.