MEASUREMENTS OF THE ANGULAR PERFORMANCE OF MAGNETOOPTIC PHASE ENHANCED QUADRILAYERS BASED ON TBFECO

Seven TbFeCo based magneto-optic phase enhanced quadrilayers have been designed and fabricated to improve the detection of the polar Kerr ef fect in order to maximize the SNR associated with the read process in a magneto-optic memory. Each system consisted of ZnS/TbFeCo/ZnS/Al/gla ss and was fabricated using RF and DC sputtering techniques as well as conventional thermal evaporation. The experimental performance of the se structures as a function of angle of incidence is reported and comp ared with theoretical predictions. Results obtained with incident radi ation polarized in both P and S states indicate the success of the des ign philosophy and the fabrication procedure.