General analytical treatment of optics in layered structures: Application to magneto-optics
- 29 November 2001
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review B
- Vol. 64 (23), 235421
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.64.235421
Abstract
We have derived compact and interpretable analytical expressions to describe the magneto-optics in layered structures for all orientations of magnetization and incident angle. In our approach, the multilayer system is considered as nonmagnetic and the magneto-optical effect is described by an induced electrical polarization. The electromagnetic waves radiated by this polarization are calculated via a propagative treatment and are also shown to directly derive from the Lorentz reciprocity theorem. The expressions of the magneto-optical components of the fields transmitted and reflected in the external media are easily interpretable. Only three relevant quantities are involved: the exciting field, the magnetization, and an extraction vector. The practical calculation is very simple in the framework of the first Born approximation as the 4×4 matrix formalism is replaced by a 2×2 matrix resolution. The whole approach is not restricted to magneto-optics and the case of a variety of other systems exhibiting weak induced polarizations originating from anisotropy, bianisotropy, nonlinearity, or inhomogeneity is treated. Higher-order approximations are also discussed and an analytical approximation for large induced polarizations in thin layers is derived.Keywords
This publication has 19 references indexed in Scilit:
- Surface-enhanced magneto-optics in metallic multilayer filmsPhysical Review B, 2001
- Optical activity of small-pitch helical-shaped dielectric mediaPhysical Review B, 1996
- Polar magneto-optics in simple ultrathin-magnetic-film structuresPhysical Review B, 1995
- Observation of Large Kerr Angles in the Nonlinear Optical Response from Magnetic MultilayersPhysical Review Letters, 1995
- Magneto-optical Effects Enhanced by Surface Plasmons in Metallic Multilayer FilmsPhysical Review Letters, 1994
- Magneto-optics of multilayers with arbitrary magnetization directionsPhysical Review B, 1991
- Angular spectrum representation of scattered electromagnetic fieldsJournal of the Optical Society of America, 1983
- Optics in Stratified and Anisotropic Media: 4×4-Matrix FormulationJournal of the Optical Society of America, 1972
- Magneto-optical Scattering from Multi-layer Magnetic and Dielectric FilmsOptica Acta: International Journal of Optics, 1965
- Magneto-optical Scattering from Multi-layer Magnetic and Dielectric FilmsOptica Acta: International Journal of Optics, 1965