Faraday effect in thin amorphous magnetic films

• Published in: Sensors and actuators. A. Physical. 1997-04, Vol.59 (1-3), p.323-326
• Main Authors: Toporov, A.Yu, Nikitin, P.I., Valeiko, M.V., Beloglazov, A.A., Konov, V.I., Ghorbanzadeh, A.M., Perrone, A., Luches, A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Faraday effect sensors; Laser deposition; Soft magnetics; Thin amorphous magnetic films
• ISSN: 0924-4247; 1873-3069
• DOI: 10.1016/S0924-4247(97)80199-9

The Faraday effect in thin amorphous magnetic films has been investigated for the first time. The films of general composition FeCoNiSiB were deposited onto glass substrates by laser ablation of amorphous ribbon targets in high vacuum. Since the films have been found to have in-plane anisotropy the Faraday effect measurements were carried out under oblique incidence of 632.8 nm HeNe laser beam. It has been established that the Faraday rotation angle has a linear dependence on the film thickness in the range from 20 to 1300 Å. The Verdet constant was estimated to be as high as 3 deg (Oe cm)−1. This vaue is an order of magnitude higher than the known one for YIG at the same wavelength. The comparative studies of Faraday and Kerr rotation under the same fields have been performed in different geometries. The experimental data were in a good agreement with the results obtained by theoretical evaluations. It has been found that at a thickness exceeding 200 Å, the Faraday effect in deposited films prevailed over the Kerr one. The Faraday effect in the produced films is attractive for designing thin-film miniaturized magnetic sensors on the basis of fiber optics and optoelectronics.