Effect of magnetic field on the IR optical properties of dielectrics

Magnetic-field induced changes revealed in reflectance spectra R(λ) of nonmagnetic dielectrics Al₂O₃, LiF, and MgO in the IR range (λ = 2.5–25 μm) are reported. The reflectance spectra are shown to have specific features in the vicinity of the wavelengths corresponding to optical phonon mode excitation in these crystals, with the magnetic field giving rise to a noticeable change of reflectance ΔR/R(λ) at these wavelengths. The value of ΔR/R(λ) for p-(s-) polarized IR radiation in a magnetic field of ～13 kOe is ～0.6% (～0.4%) for Al₂O₃ at λ ≈ 9.6 μm, ～1.63% (～1.15) for LiF at λ ≈ 11.1 μm, and ～ 0.07 (～0.2%) for MgO at λ ≈ 11.7 μm, respectively. These changes can be increased substantially by irradiating the dielectric crystals by x-ray radiation. It is shown that the optical and magnetooptical properties of the above dielectrics in the IR spectral region can be described in terms of the polaron excitation theory.