MAGNETOOPTICAL KERR SPECTROSCOPY OF PALLADIUM

Magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) spectra of a paramagnetic fee Pd me tal film, measured with high sensitivity in an applied magnetic field of 1.5 T over a photon energy range 0.8-4.8 eV, are presented. Ab init io linear-muffin-tin-orbital calculations reproduce the experimental s pectra well, and explain the microscopic origin of the magneto-optical (MO) response in terms of the individual interband transitions. A ban d-by-band decomposition of the fee Pd MO spectra is presented, and tra nsitions responsible for prominent structures in the spectra are ident ified. The dominant role of transitions from states in the vicinity of the Fermi level is found. It is found and explained that the proporti onality between the magnitude of the MOKE spectra and the magnetic mom ent induced on the Pd atom holds over two orders of magnitude up to th e value of similar to 0.25 mu(B) typical for magnetic Pd compounds. It is shown that, in spite of the different mechanisms of the Pd magneti zation, the MOKE spectra of the paramagnetic Pd metal in the external magnetic field are similar to the spectra of the ferromagnetic diluted Co-Pd and Fe-Pd alloys. [S0163-1829(98)01036-4].