Magneto-Optical Kerr Effect in Different Surfaces of Epitaxially Grown Co Films

Abstract

Measurements of polar magneto-optical (MO) Kerr spectra of hcp-CO films with various orientations fabricated by the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) method were carried out. Substrate used here was MgO(100) and (111) surfaces with Au and Ag buffer layers. The CO films were covered with 20Å Au cap layer to prevent from oxidation. The MO Kerr spectra were different to each other between the (1120) and (0001) planes in the low-energy region, below 4.0 eV. This suggests that the electronic states are modified by the magnetization directions through a spin-orbit coupling.