Analysis of Magneto-Optical Spectra in Compositionally-Modulated Multilayered Films

This paper presents an interpretation and analysis of experimentally obtained magneto-optical spectra for compositionally modulated multilayered films of transition metal and noble metal layers, such as Fe/Cu. Two possible mechanisms are discussed: (1) the noble metal atoms at interfaces are magnetically polarized by the transition metals and therefore contribute to the magneto-optical spectrum; and (2) the optical constants of multilayered film are different from those of single-layer film, and the Kerr rotation spectrum is effectively altered by the change in optical constants. This analysis clarifies that mechanism (1) does not occur in this case, whereas most of the experimental results can be explained in terms of (2).