Magneto-Optical Kerr Effect of Iron Thin Films on Paramagnetic Substrates

TL;DR

This study uses first principles calculations to analyze how iron thin films on various paramagnetic metal substrates influence magnetic properties and the magneto-optical Kerr effect, considering substrate hybridization and relaxation effects.

Contribution

It provides a detailed first-principles analysis of the magneto-optical Kerr effect in iron thin films on different paramagnetic substrates, highlighting substrate hybridization and relaxation effects.

Findings

Hybridization significantly affects Kerr angle.

Relaxation effects influence magnetic properties.

Results obtained using relativistic full-potential calculations.

Abstract

First principles calculations of the magnetic properties and the magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) of iron thin films epitaxially grown on the [001] surface of paramagnetic metals: copper, silver, gold, palladium, and platinum are presented. The role of hybridization with the substrate is investigated and it is shown how the relaxation effects influence the complex Kerr angle. The results are obtained by means of the relativistic full-potential linear muffin-tin method, and the film is modeled using a slab geometry within a supercell technique.