Thickness dependence of interfacial magneto-optic effects in Pt/Co multilayers

Spectroscopic ellipsometry and magneto-optic Kerr effects are measured on P t/Co multilayers with a series of Co layer thicknesses from 0.08 to 1 nm. A n electromagnetic theory of multilayered structures allows regression analy sis fits between acquired data and parameter dependent model analysis. Rece ntly, we determined the single layer Co magneto-optic Voigt parameter and f ound that it depends on Co layer thickness. In the present work, we report an in-depth study of interfacial magneto-optic effects for a large number o f Pt/Co multilayer samples. Kerr rotation and ellipticity were measured ove r the spectral range from 200 to 1700 nm. Voigt parameters of the magnetic layers for these Pt/Co multilayer samples with different thicknesses were c ompared, and the Pt-Co interface thicknesses were determined in terms of th e material dielectric tensor. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics. [S002 1-8979(98)46711-2].