Abstract
Experimental observations of linear and nonlinear magneto-optical phenomena in magnetically ordered nanostructured materials and thin films are discussed. Films of ferromagnetic nanoparticles of CoNbTa in SiO2 matrix with a various relation of metal and dielectric phases were studied by means of static and dynamic magneto-optical techniques with subpicosecond temporal resolution. The optical second harmonic generation was investigated in ferromagnetic-semiconductor heterostructures MnAs/Si (111). The observed changes in the second-harmonic intensity were odd in magnetisation. Second and third harmonic optical spectra were studied in epitaxial magnetic thin films in the spectral range of 1.7-3.2 eV and 2.4-4.2 eV, respectively. No significant increase of the intensity of the nonlinear spectra was found above the bandgap near 3.2 eV where linear absorption increases by two orders of magnitude.
