Nonlinear magneto-optical Kerr spectra of thin ferromagnetic iron films calculated with ab initio bandstructure theory

We show that the nonlinear Kerr effect reveals sensitively the geometrical and magnetic structure of surfaces and interfaces. We present calculations of the film-thickness dependent nonlinear magneto-optical Kerr spectra for thin bcc Fe films within a slab geometry using the spin-polarized full-potential linear muffin-tin orbital method. Our results show clearly that the nonlinear Kerr spectra of thin films are characteristicaly different from those at surfaces of bulk materials and moreover reflect more sensitively film features such as magnetic moments and substrate effects than linear spectra which are also calculated. In the case of linear Kerr spectra of Au/Fe(_bcc)/Au(001) films our theoretical results are in good agreement with observed frequency- and thickness-dependent spectra.     

MnBiAl薄膜的磁光及磁性能研究

用真空电子束蒸发制备了MnBi_xAl_0.15薄膜.当0.4≤x≤0.7时,MnBi_xAl_0.15薄膜的Kerr角与MnBi_x薄膜相比有显著增大;而当x＞0.7时,MnBi_xAl_0.15的Kerr角则比MnBi_x的要不,633nm波长测量时,MnBi_{0.5Al0.15的Kerr角为2.75°,而相对应的MnBi0.5薄膜只有1.56°.MnBi05Al0.15薄膜的室温饱和磁化强度Ms为3×10⁵A/m,比MnBi0.5薄膜的Ms(4×10⁵A/m)要小.推测当0.4≤x≤0.7时,Al可能部分占据Bi空位和部分取代Mn位,由于晶格收缩使得Mn 3d电子与Bi 6p电子的杂化概率增大,从而导致其Kerr效应增强. 关键词：}     

LARGE AND EXTREMELY FAST THIRD-ORDER NON-LINEARITY OF Ag NANOPARTICLES EMBEDDED INTO A CsxO SEMICONDUCTOR MATRIX

The third-order optical nonlinearity of Ag-O-Cs thin films, where Ag nanoparticles are embedded into a Cs_xO semiconductor matrix, was measured by the femtosecond optical Kerr technique. The third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility, χ⁽³⁾, of the thin films was estimated to be 1.1×10^-9 esu at the incident wavelength of 820 nm. The response time, i.e. the full width at half-maximum of the Kerr signal, is as fast as 114 fs only. The intrinsic third-order optical nonlinearity can be attributed to the intraband transition of electrons from the occupied state near the Fermi level to the unoccupied state. It is suggested that such a nonlinearity is further enhanced by the local field effect that is present in the metallic nanoparticles composite thin films.     

Modulation of ultrafast laser-induced magnetization precession in BiFeO<Subscript>3</Subscript>-coated La<Subscript>0.67</Subscript>Sr<Subscript>0.33</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> thin films

The ultrafast laser-excited magnetization dynamics of ferromagnetic (FM) La_0.67Sr_0.33MnO₃ (LSMO) thin films with BiFeO₃ (BFO) coating layers grown by laser molecular beam epitaxy are investigated using the optical pump-probe technique. Uniform magnetization precessions are observed in the films under an applied external magnetic field by measuring the time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect. The magnetization precession frequencies of the LSMO thin films with the BFO coating layers are lower than those of uncoated LSMO films, which is attributed to the suppression of the anisotropy field induced by the exchange interaction at the interface between the antiferromagnetic order of BFO and the FM order of LSMO.     

Influence of oblique incidence anisotropy on domain structures in GdCo3 sputtered amorphous films

Domain structures in thin obliquely sputtered amorphous GdCo₃ films here been studied by means of the polar Kerr effect and Bitter technique. The influence of induced anisotropy by oblique deposition on domain arrangement is shown and discussed. Discrete stripe domains different from those observed in Permalloy (weak stripes or stripes type I) have been found and a model of this structure proposed.     

Giant magnetorefractive effect in La<Subscript>0.7</Subscript>Ca<Subscript>0.3</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> films

Complex experimental investigations of the structural, optical, and magneto-optical properties (magnetotransmission, magnetoreflection, and transversal Kerr effect, as well as the magnetoresistance, of La_0.7Ca_0.3MnO₃ epitaxial films indicate that magnetoreflection and magnetotransmission in manganite films can reach giant values and depend strongly on the magnetic and charge homogeneity of the films, their thickness, and spectral range under investigation. It has been shown that the optical enhancement of the magnetorefractive effect occurs in thin films as compared to manganite crystals. In the region of the minimum of the reflectance near the first phonon band, the resonance-like magnetorefractive effect has been observed, which is accompanied by change of the sign of the magnetoreflection. A model based on the theory of the magnetorefractive effect has been proposed to qualitatively explain this behavior.     

Magnetic and magneto-optical properties of FeRh thin films

The magnetic and magneto-optical properties of FeRh thin films epitaxially deposited onto MgO(1 0 0) substrates by RF sputter-deposition system have been investigated in conjunction with the structure. An intriguing virgin effect has been found in the M–T curves of the as-deposited FeRh thin films, which is presumably interpreted in term of a change in structural phase when heating. Also, a (negative) maximum peak of Kerr rotation at around 3.8 eV has been observed when FeRh thin films are in ferromagnetic state. The polar Kerr rotation angle is found to increase at temperatures above 100 °C, which corresponds to the antiferromagnet (AF)–ferromagnet (FM) transition of FeRh thin films.     

Magnetooptic setup for investigating the dynamic properties of domain walls in thin ferromagnetic films

A magnetooptic Kerr setup is designed for investigating the dynamic properties of domain walls in thin ferromagnetic films subjected to an external magnetic field in the temperature range 20–150°C. With this setup, the method of interrupted magnetization is implemented and the magnetic (domain) structure is visualized based on the meridional Kerr effect. The domain structure is displayed on a PC monitor using a Nikon DXM 1200 high-resolution digital video camera. A dedicated software makes it possible to automatize measurements and data processing.     

Exploring magnetic properties of ultrathin epitaxial magnetic structures using magneto-optical techniques

We describe magneto-optic Kerr effect studies of ultrathin Fe and Ni films on single crystal surfaces of Ag and Cu. Monolayer Fe films on Ag(100) exhibit the theoretically predicted spin-orbit anisotropy, but also yield some interesting discrepancies between behavior predicted by Kerr effect and by spin-polarized photoemission experiments. Layer-dependent studies of the magnetic moment of Ni on Ag(111) and Ag(100) suggest sp-d hybridization effects quench the first layer magnetic moment on Ag(111) but not on Ag(100). Temperature dependent studies of thin film magnetization obtained from Kerr effect measurements yield thickness dependent Curie temperatures, and critical exponents for several thin film systems.     

Interface morphologies and magnetization characteristics of Co70Fe30 thin films deposited on conjugated polymer thin films

The surface and interface morphology and magnetization characteristics of Co₇₀Fe₃₀ thin films deposited on bare glass and p-Si/SiO₂ substrates and on conjugated polymer poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT) thin films on such substrates have been studied by atomic force microscopy and magneto-optic Kerr effect. It was found that the average absolute magnitude of the coercive field of Co₇₀Fe₃₀ correlates with the roughness of the underlayer prior to Co₇₀Fe₃₀ deposition. P3HT deposited on p-Si/SiO₂ substrates possesses an increased surface roughness as compared to the p-Si/SiO₂ surface, but displays a decreased surface roughness as compared to the one of a bare glass substrate.     

Argon and krypton ion-induced changes in permalloy thin films

The effects of 75-keV Ar and 100-keV Kr ion irradiations of 72-nm thin DC-sputtered permalloy (Ni₈₁Fe₁₉) films on Si(100) wafers were studied at fluences of up to 10¹⁶ ions/cm². The changes of the structural and magnetic properties were measured via X-ray diffraction, Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, and magneto-optical Kerr effect. The irradiations increase the lattice constant and improve the crystallinity of the samples. They induce also strong changes of the magnetic polarisation and the coercive field for increasing ion fluence. The hysteresis loops suggest that, with increasing ion fluence, the reversal of the magnetisation changes gradually from rotation-dominated in the as-deposited films to domain-wall-motion dominated at the highest ion fluences. The results are compared with those obtained for Ni-, Cr-and Xe-ion irradiated permalloy films.     

Epitaxial growth and characterization of layered magnetic nanostructures

We describe the construction and operation of an ultrahigh-vacuum system devoted to the study of layered magnetic nanostructures. The apparatus includes two growth chambers, where specimens nanostructured along the direction of growth (heterostructures, nanometric and subnanometric thin films and multilayers) are deposited either by molecular beam epitaxy or pulsed laser deposition, and a measurement chamber, where they are analyzed in situ by a variety of electron spectroscopies. Magnetic characterization is obtained by spin resolved inverse photoemission spectroscopy and magneto optical Kerr effect technique. Vacuum transfer towards other experimental facilities is also available. As examples of application, results from half metallic magnetic oxides, such as magnetite (Fe₃O₄) and manganite (La_2/3Sr_1/3MnO₃) thin films, and ferromagnet/semiconductor interfaces (Fe/Ge(0 0 1)) are also reported.     

Third-order nonlinear optical response of Au-core CdS-shell composite nanoparticles embedded in BaTiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> thin films

Au-core CdS-shell composite nanoparticles were synthesized by a direct self-assembly process and integrated into BaTiO₃ thin films. Characterization by transmission electron microscopy showed that the average diameter of these composite nanoparticles was about 8 nm. Using the femtosecond time-resolved optical Kerr effect method, we investigated the third-order nonlinear optical response of the Au@CdS nanoparticles embedded in the BaTiO₃ thin films at a wavelength of 800 nm. An ultrafast nonlinear response and a large effective third-order nonlinear susceptibility of χ⁽³⁾=7.7×10^-11 esu were observed. We attributed the enhancement of the third-order optical nonlinearity to a localized electric field effect originating from the core-shell structure under off-surface-plasmon resonance conditions. Received: 13 May 2002 / Revised version: 23 October 2002 / Published online: 3 April 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +86-21/6510-4949, E-mail: sxqian@fudan.ac.cn     

Carrier concentration dependence of optical Kerr nonlinearity in indium tin oxide films

Optical Kerr nonlinearity (n₂) in n-type indium tin oxide (ITO) films coated on glass substrates has been measured using Z-scans with 200-fs laser pulses at wavelengths ranging from 720 to 780 nm. The magnitudes of the measured nonlinearity in the ITO films were found to be dependent on the carrier concentration with a maximum n₂-value of 4.1×10^-5 cm²/GW at 720-nm wavelength and an electron density of N_d=5.8×10²⁰ cm^-3. The Kerr nonlinearity was also observed to be varied with the laser wavelength. By employing a femtosecond time-resolved optical Kerr effect (OKE) technique, the relaxation time of OKE in the ITO films is determined to be ∼1 ps. These findings suggest that the Kerr nonlinearity in ITO can be tailored by controlling the carrier concentration, which should be highly desirable in optoelectronic devices for ultrafast all-optical switching. PACS 42.65.An; 42.65.Hw; 78.40.Fy     

Magneto-optical Kerr effects of yttrium-iron garnet thin films incorporating gold nanoparticles

We report an experimental study on magneto-optical (MO) Kerr effects of yttrium-iron garnet (YIG) thin films incorporating Au nanoparticles. The polar MO Kerr spectra in the wavelength between 400 and 800 nm show that, by incorporating the Au nanoparticles, Kerr rotation angles become negative values in the region, where the localized surface plasmon polariton (SPP) resonance of the Au nanoparticles is located. The anomalous Kerr rotation indicates a possible coupling between the MO Kerr effect of YIG and the SPP. A mechanism for the coupling is discussed.     

Observation and theory of strong stripe domains in amorphous sputtered FeB films

Domain structures in thin sputtered amorphous FeB films are studied by means of the longitudinal Kerr effect. In addition to the irregular domain structure characteristic of soft magnetic materials, we observe in certain regions a fine equilibrium domain structure with periodicity of a few micrometers. The Kerr contrast indicates that the magnetization at the surface of the film lies partially along the stripe direction. These characteristics and the behavior in applied fields suggests that the domains are similar to type II “strong stripe domains” observed earlier in permalloy films. Extending an earlier theory by Hara, we use a stray-field-free model with tilted orthorhombic anisotropy to show that there are at least two qualitatively different strong stripe structures: type IIa with surface magnetization perpendicular to the stripes and type IIb with surface magnetization at least partially parallel to the stripes. Type IIb is favored when K_p/K₀<cos 2θ ₀ where K₀ is the anisotropy component with axis tilted by θ₀ out of the film plane, and K_p is an in-plane anisotropy perpendicular to K₀. Strong stripes in amorphous FeB appear to be type IIb while those in permalloy are usually type IIa.     

Rare-earth-mediated magnetism and magneto-optical Kerr effects in nanocrystalline CoFeMn0.9RE0.1O4 thin films

A series of rare-earth (RE)-doped nanocrystalline CoFeMn_0.9RE_0.1O₄ thin films were prepared on monocrystalline silicon substrate by a sol–gel process, and the influences of the various RE³⁺ ions on the microstructure, magnetism and polar magneto-optical Kerr effects of the as-deposited films were examined. The results revealed that both of the magnetism and Kerr effect of CoFeMn_0.9RE_0.1O₄ films could be mediated by doping with various RE³⁺ ions. The trend of both M_S and H_C of CoFeMn_0.9RE_0.1O₄ films is similar to that of Bohr magneton across the series of rare-earth ions. The position of Kerr rotation peaks was red-shifted and their intensities increased, especially when doping with La³⁺, Tb³⁺, Y³⁺ or Yb³⁺ and so on. The enhanced MOKEs in CoFeMn_0.9RE_0.1O₄ nanocrystalline thin films might promise their applications for magneto-optical recording in the future.     

Magnetization-induced third-harmonic generation in nanostructures and thin films

This paper reports on the results of research into low-dimensional magnetic structures that have been intensively studied over previous decades due to the discovery of novel effects that are exhibited by these structures but not observed in bulk magnetic materials. A nonlinear optical analog of the magnetooptical Kerr effect is revealed in the optical third-harmonic generation in thin magnetic metallic films and nanogranular structures. It is shown that the magnetic nonlinear optical Kerr effect observed in the third harmonic exceeds the magnetooptical analog by more than one order of magnitude.     

Optical and magnetooptical properties of granular alloys with giant magnetoresistance in the IR region of the spectrum

The features of the optical and magnetooptical properties of granular alloys with giant magnetoresistance in the IR region are examined in reference to the magnetorefractive effect and the equatorial Kerr effect. Calculations are performed within the semiclassical approximation with consideration of spin-dependent scattering in the bulk of the granules and on their surfaces (interfaces). The expressions obtained for σ _xx(ω) and σ _xy(ω) are found to be sensitive to scattering on the surfaces and in the bulk of the granules, as well as to granule size, the type of impurities trapped on the interfaces, the frequency of the incident light, and the external magnetic field. For granular thin films exhibiting giant magnetoresistance, the theory predicts significant relative changes in the optical reflection and transmission coefficients when the sample is magnetized to saturation (0.02% and 20%, respectively, for giant magnetoresistance of the order of 20%), as well as Kerr and Faraday effects that are nonlinear with respect to magnetization. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 116, 1762–1769 (November 1999)     

Thickness induced magnetic anisotropic properties of Tb-Fe-Co thin films

The influence of Tb₂₅Fe₆₁Co₁₄ thin film thicknesses varying from 2 to 300 nm on the structural and magnetic properties has been systematically investigated by using of X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, magnetization, and magneto-optic Kerr effect microscopy measurements. Thin film growth mechanism is pursued and controlled by ex-situ X-ray refractometry measurements. X-ray diffraction studies reveal that the Tb₂₅Fe₆₁Co₁₄ films are amorphous regardless of thin films thicknesses. The magnetic properties are found to be strongly related to thickness and preferred orientation. With an increase in film thickness, the easy axis of magnetization is reversed from in-plane to out-of-plane direction. The change in the easy axes direction also affects the remanence, coercivity and magnetic anisotropy values. The cause for the magnetic anisotropy direction change from in-plane to out-of-plane can be related to the preferred orientation of the thin film which depends on the large out-of-plane coercivity and plays an important role in deciding the easy axes direction of the films. According to our results, up to the 100 nm in-plane direction is dominated over the whole system under major Fe-Fe interaction region, after that point, the magnetic anisotropy direction change to the out-of-plane under major Tb-Fe/Tb-Co interaction region and preferred orientation dependent perpendicular magnetic anisotropic properties become more dominated with 2.7 kOe high coercive field values.