THICKNESS-DEPENDENT OSCILLATION OF THE MAGNETOOPTICAL PROPERTIES OF AU-SANDWICHED (001)FE FILMS

Au-sandwiched bcc (001) Fe wedges were produced by the molecular beam epitaxy method (0-20 Angstrom). The polar Kerr rotation and Kerr ellip ticity spectra (1.5-5 eV) were measured as a function of the Fe thickn ess d. In both kinds of spectra new peaks appear. The complex Kerr rot ation oscillates as a function of the film thickness. More than four o scillations could be clearly observed in the measured thickness range. Magneto-optical transitions from the Delta(5) band to quantum-well st ates (QWS's) in the Delta(1) majority-spin band change the intrinsic d ielectric properties. The oscillation period and transition energies a re in agreement with theory. Thickness-dependent structures below 2.5 eV strongly suggest the occurrence of partially confined QWS's around E(F) or QWS's in the Delta(5) band.