Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 February 2011
Ultra high vacuum deposited rare-earth transition metal thin film materials have been systematically investigated with respect to a high read out performance ∝ R1/2 ·θK in a magneto-optical differential detection scheme (R: reflectivity, θK: Kerr-rotation). In-situ determined XPS valence band spectra have been correlated to magneto-optical and reflectivity spectra ex-situ measured in the photon energy range 0.5 ≤ Eph ≤ 5.5 eV. At temperatures above 100 K, contributions to the Kerr effect from 4fn → 4fn−15d1 optical transitions amount to some tenth of a degree at maximum. In particular, Eu is found to be divalent in amorphous Eu-FeCo intermetallic alloys but no contribution to the Kerr-effect could be detected both at room temperature and at 100 K. We present a general argument that 4f excitations of RE ions in an RE-TM alloy can never be expected to contribute more than several tenth of a degree to θK.
A substantial improvement of the performance can be expected, however, if the optical constants n and k of a storage material with a given magneto-optical activity are lowered. A novel approach in this direction is the use of artificially layered structures where a maximum enhancement of R1/2 ·θK of about a factor of 2.5 may be expected.