Magneto-optical Kerr effects of ferromagnetic Ni-gratings

We report measurements of the magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) on an opti cal grating of Ni-stripes on Si(111) and a grating of Al-stripes on a Ni th in film. The analysis of the MOKE signal at different orders of diffraction n reveals a change of the Kerr signal amplitude, which is periodic in n ha ving the same periodicity as the total intensity of the diffracted light. F or the grating of Ni-stripes we observe a definite change of the shape of t he magnetic hysteresis loops also varying systematically with the order of diffraction n. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(00)38008 -2].