Local field effects in magneto-optics of two-dimensional arrays of ferromagnetic nanoparticles

A theory of the polar magneto-optical Kerr effect in a layer of small ferromagnetic particles has been developed in the framework of the Green’s function method of electrodynamics. The manifestation in magneto-optics of the local field effect, which is initiated by the contribution to the effective field of dipole moments induced in particles, has been studied in terms of the model of a square lattice of ferromagnetic ellipsoids. The magneto-optical Kerr effect stimulated under normal incidence of a linearly polarized electromagnetic wave on a layer of particles magnetized perpendicular to the layer plane has been analyzed. The dependence of the Kerr rotation angle in an array of ellipsoidal Co particles embedded in the transparent dielectric CaF₂ on the light frequency, the parameters of the ellipsoidal particles, and the lattice period (concentration of the magnet in the layer) has been studied numerically. It has been shown that, within a broad (2.0–4.5 eV) spectral range, the local field effect studied as a function of increasing concentration of Co particles in the layer manifests itself in the reversal of the sign of the Kerr rotation compared to that observed in a single ellipsoid or a solid Co film.