THE MAGNETOOPTICAL AND OPTICAL-PROPERTIES OF ULTRATHIN FE FILMS IN THE SHORT-WAVELENGTH RANGE

The magneto-optical and optical properties of ultrathin Fe films sandw iched between Au layers were studied. A pronounced Kerr rotation peak is observed respectively in the photon energy range of 3.6-3.8 eV when the Fe layer is thinner than 1.5 nm, and in the range of 3.4-3.5 eV f or thicker Fe layers. In simple calculations, the Kerr rotation peak i s demonstrated to originate from the variation of the off-diagonal ele ment in dielectric tensor of the Fe layers. The relative peak height D elta theta(k), the normalized Ken rotation theta(kn), and the effectiv e optical constants at the photon energy of 3.5 eV are found to oscill ate as a function of d(Fe). (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.