Kerr effect enhancement in ferromagnetic films

The enhancement of the Kerr magneto-optic effect by overcoating a ferromagnetic film with a dielectric film is studied. It is treated as an impedance-matching problem for the light wave. Closed form solutions are obtained for the polar Kerr effect. The same analysis, with modifications, can be applied to the longitudinal Kerr effect. The effect of the dielectric thickness on the enhancement is continuously monitored with a laser beam (λ = 6328Å) during the dielectric film deposition. The amplification of the longitudinal Kerr signal with SiO films on iron film is of the order of five, and the enhancement varies periodically as a function of dielectric thickness. The experimentally observed period, 1600Å, agrees well with the calculated value. The sense of loops, which also varies periodically as a function of the dielectric thickness, is explainable in terms of the phase factor which appears in the difference between the reflection coefficients.