Magnetic and magneto-optical properties of MnSb films grown on sapphire substrate

We have grown MnSb films on sapphire substrates by hot wail epitaxy. A seri es of films with thicknesses of 80. 155 and 230 nm was prepared to determin e the thickness dependence of their magnetic and magneto-optical properties . Our results indicate that the thinnest and thickest films possess largest coercivity and saturation magnetization, respectively. The largest Kerr ro tation angle was also found in the thickest film for both the longitudinal and polar Kerr rotations, reaching a maximum of 0.31 degrees. We attribute this behavior to the thickness dependence of both the film magnetization or ientation and its atomic composition.