Magnetorefractive effect in nanocomposites: Dependence on the angle of incidence and on light polarization

The polarization and angular dependences of the magnetorefractive effect (MRE) in metal-insulator nanocomposites in reflection and transmission geometries have been calculated in terms of the high-frequency, spin-dependent tunneling mechanism. The MRE exhibits a weak polarization and angular response at small angles of incidence. The MRE in reflection and transmission starts to grow strongly with increasing angle of incidence. The MRE in reflection in nanocomposites with metal contents corresponding to the insulating phase near the percolation threshold reaches the largest values with p-polarized light at an angle of incidence close to the Brewster angle. The results of the calculation are in a qualitative agreement with experimental data.