Magnetic films and multilayers were prepared by pulsed laser ablation of Co- and Fe-based amorphous magnetic ribbons with compositions Co67Cr7Fe4Si8B14,, and Fe73.5Nb3Cu1Si13.5B9, respectively. Targets were ablated in vacuum (similar to10(-5) Pa) by KrF excimer laser pulses at fluences from 3 to 7 J/cm(2). Films were deposited on oxidized silicon wafers, placed 80 mm apart from the target. From X-ray diffraction spectra it follows that all the films are amorphous, while Rutherford backscattering spectrometry analyses confirm that their composition is close to the respective target when they are deposited at the lower fluence. In the case of higher fluence, the concentrations of both Si and B in the films decrease. From ferromagnetic resonance studies it results that the effective magnetizations 4piM(eff) and g-factors of the films are close to the values of the respective ribbon only in the case of Fe-dominating composition. Nanometric multilayers (4-nm magnetic alloy/6 nm Cu) X 5 were also deposited and electrically and magnetically characterized. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V All rights reserved.