J. Bremer et al., Influence of surface plasmons on the Faraday effect in bismuth-substitutedyttrium iron garnet films, J APPL PHYS, 89(11), 2001, pp. 6177-6182
The Kerr rotation and ellipticity of Bi1.8Y1.2Fe5O12 films (Bi:YIG) with th
e easy axis of magnetization perpendicular to the film plane was investigat
ed in a Kretschmann setup at the wavelength 1.31 mum. The sample was coated
by a thin Au film in order to excite plasmons at the free Au surface. An e
llipsometric setup, supplemented with a magnetic field oriented perpendicul
arly to the film plane was used to measure the reflected p and s components
of an incoming p polarized wave. The phase difference between the outgoing
p and s waves was found by an indirect procedure. A minimum in Kerr rotati
on and a maximum in Kerr ellipticity could be observed at the surface plasm
on resonance angle. Using the Berreman formalism, the experimental curves f
or the prism/Bi:YIG/Au system could be reproduced by bulk optical constants
of the constituents. The asymmetry of the ellipticity curve is demonstrate
d to arise from a sudden variation in the phase. The effects of the field d
istribution and the surface roughness are discussed. (C) 2001 American Inst
itute of Physics.