FARADAY-EFFECT IN CO TIO2 FILMS

It is shown that in a layered medium consisting of a magnetic metal (C o) and a nonmagnetic insulator (TiO2), the layer thickness being less than the wavelength of the light, a fundamental change occurs in the c haracter of the Faraday-effect spectra if the number of layers is suff iciently large. When the number of pairs of layers changes from 5 to 1 0, a maximum appears near similar to 1.7 eV in the Faraday rotation sp ectrum and the ellipticity passes through zero. The results obtained a re compared with the existing theory of the Faraday effect in granular structures consisting of a magnetic metal and nonmagnetic insulator. The surface plasmon energy in thin Co layers is estimated. (C) 1997 Am erican Institute of Physics.