Determination of the interfacial magneto-optical effects in Co/Pt multilayer structures

Authors

Xiang Gao, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Daniel W. Thompson, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
John A. Woollam, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

6-16-1997

Comments

Published in Appl. Phys. Lett. 70 (24), 16 June 1997. © 1997 American Institute of Physics. Used by permission.

Abstract

In this letter, we present results of a study of the magneto-optical Kerr response in Co/Pt superlattices by solving for optical constants and Voigt parameters of constituent layers in the structure. The absolute values of the Voigt parameters of Co/Pt interfaces were found to be about twice as large as for the Co layer in the superlattice. Furthermore, using the determined optical constants and Voigt parameters, we can generate the Kerr rotations and ellipticities for Co/Pt superlattices or sandwich structures with continuously changed layer thicknesses and different repeat numbers. Comparison of these theoretical results to the experimental magneto-optical responses for selected structures exhibits strong consistency.