CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Magneto-Optic Kerr Effect (MOKE) is one of the most suitable techniques to study superficial magnetization phenomena due to its limited material penetration (~20 nm for most of metals). It is widely used in nanomagnetism for its considerable surface sensitivity and relatively simple assemble and operation. The technique is able to sense both, changes in the orientation of electric field polarization plane, and light intensity variations of a monochromatic linearly polarized beam after being reflected by a magnetized surface material. Briefly, the magnetization alters the dielectric tensor of the sample, making it optically anisotropic and hence, modifying the reflection properties of the surface.In a previous work a new method was introduced to quantitatively and simultaneously measure the two magnetization components parallel to the plane of the film (v-MOKE). Even when this method is accurate and easy to implement, it presents the disadvantage that it is necessary to rotate the electromagnet. Depending on its dimension and weight, implementing this task could be, in practice, complex or directly unfeasible.Here, we introduce an alternative method aimed to quantitatively compare the two magnetization components parallel to the sample film in v-MOKE experiments. The proposal presents the advantage of a fix electromagnet (as well as all other components of the experimental setup), which might be very convenient for most v-MOKE devices. Consequently, the proposed procedure allows acquiring simultaneously and quantitatively both in-plane magnetization components with a fixed experimental arrangement. Two films, FePt 9 and 100 nm thickness, were used as sample probes, presenting in-plane magnetic uniaxial anisotropy and in-plane magnetic isotropy, respectively. All experiments were carried out at room temperature by employing a home-made MOKE system.