Enhancement of the magneto-optical Kerr rotation in Fe/Cu bilayered films

Abstract

It is shown in Fe/Cu bilayered films that the magneto-optical polar Kerr rotation can be enhanced by an effect of the plasma resonance of the free charge carriers in Cu. The strong enhancement is observed around 560 nm which corresponds to the plasma edge of Cu metal. The magnitude of the Kerr rotation reaches up to above twice as large as that of Fe. This is the first example of substantial enhancement of Kerr rotation without use of the interference effect.