Electronic Theory for the Nonlinear Magneto-Optical Response of Transition-Metals at Surfaces and Interfaces: Dependence of the Kerr-Rotation on Polarization and on the Magnetic Easy Axis

First principles calculations of the magnetic properties and the magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) of iron thin films epitaxially grown on the [001] surface of paramagnetic metals: copper, silver, gold, palladium, and platinum are presented. The role of hybridization with the substrate is investigated and it is shown how the relaxation effects influence the complex Kerr angle. The results are obtained by means of the relativistic full-potential linear muffin-tin method, and ...

Very high magnetic anisotropies have been theoretically predicted for strained Fe-Co(-X) and indeed several experiments on epitaxial thin films seemed to confirm strain induced anisotropy enhancement. This study presents a critical analysis of the different contributions to perpendicular anisotropy: volume, interface and surface anisotropies. Tracing these contributions, thickness series of single layer films as well as multilayers with Au-Cu buffers/interlayers of different ...

We have studied the magneto-optical Kerr effect and optical reflectance of perpendicular magnetized Co/Pt films on self-assembly two-dimensional polystyrene spheres. It is shown that the magneto-optical and the reflectance spectra are correlated to each other. Calculations have shown that the magneto-optical Kerr rotation and the Kerr ellipticity spectra are governed by the resonant coupling of light to the excitations of surface plasmon polaritons and modified by the sphere ...

A surface magnetoelectric effect is revealed by density-functional calculations that are applied to ferromagnetic Fe(001), Ni(001) and Co(0001) films in the presence of external electric field. The effect originates from spin-dependent screening of the electric field which leads to notable changes in the surface magnetization and the surface magnetocrystalline anisotropy. These results are of considerable interest in the area of electrically-controlled magnetism and magnetoel...

By combining interface-sensitive non-linear magneto-optical experiments with femtosecond time resolution and ab-initio time-dependent density functional theory, we show that optically excited spin dynamics at Co/Cu(001) interfaces proceeds via spin-dependent charge transfer and backtransfer between Co and Cu. This ultrafast spin transfer competes with dissipation of spin angular momentum mediated by spin-orbit coupling already on sub 100 fs timescales. We thereby identify the...

This paper has two parts. The first part uses a single point of view to discuss the reflection and averaging mechanisms of spin-transfer between current-carrying electrons and the ferromagnetic layers of magnetic/non-magnetic heterostructures. The second part incorporates both effects into a matrix Boltzmann equation and reports numerical results for current polarization, spin accumulation, magnetoresistance, and spin-transfer torques for Co/Cu/Co multilayers. When possible, ...

We examined the photo-induced dynamics of ferromagnetic Co/Pt thin films demonstrating perpendicular magnetic anisotropy with element specificity using resonant polar magneto-optical Kerr effect measurements at Pt~N${}_{6,7}$ and Co~M${}_{2,3}$ edges with an x-ray free electron laser. The obtained results showed a clear element dependence of photo-induced demagnetization time scales: $\tau_\textrm{demag.}^\textrm{Co}=80\pm60~\textrm{fs}$ and $\tau_\textrm{demag.}^\textrm{Pt}=...

The magneto-optical properties of (Ga,Mn)As have been determined within density functional theory using the highly precise full-potential linear augmented plane wave (FLAPW) method. A detailed investigation of the electronic and magnetic properties in connection to the magneto-optic effects is reported. The spectral features of the optical tensor in the 0-10 eV energy range are analyzed in terms of the band structure and density of states and the essential role of the dipole ...

It was experimentally observed that both magnetic anisotropy and spin-orbit interaction strength change when the magnetization of the nanomagnet is reversed. This indicates a variation in spin-orbit interaction strength depending on whether the magnetic field penetrates the interface from a ferromagnetic to a non-magnetic metal or vice versa. Systematic measurements of over 100 nanomagnets revealed a consistent, yet unexpected, pattern between variations in magnetic anisotrop...

Magnetic/non-magnetic/heterostructured ultra-thin films' characterisation is highly demanding due to the emerging diverse applications of such films. Diverse measurements are usually performed on such systems to infer their electrical, optical and magnetic properties. We demonstrate that MOKE-based spin-Hall effect of light (SHEL) is a versatile surface characterization tool for studying materials' magnetic and dielectric ordering. Using this technique, we measure magnetic fi...