Optical and Magneto-Optical Characterization of Evaporated Co/Pt Alloys and Multilayers

The optical and magneto-optical properties of evaporated Col-xPtxalloys and Co/Pt multilayers have been studied at room-temperature in the photon energy range 0.8≤hω≤5eV. A maximum Pt-induced Kerr rotation of| θK|=0.66° is found in evaporated alloys (x=0.5) compared to| θK|=0.49° in corresponding multilayers. The difference is related to the type of Pt exchange polarization mechanism, which is 3D in alloys and 2D in muitilayers, and a lower room-temperature magnetization due to a reduced Curie temperature in the multilayers. We confirm that a strong interband transitions at 4.2 eV due to Pt contributions is responsible for the remarkable Kerr effect in Col-xPtx. © 1992 IEEE