Ellipsometric and magneto-optical study of nanosized ferromagnetic metal-dielectric structures [Co/TiO2]n/Si

Abstract

Ferromagnetic metal-dielectric multilayer structures [Co/TiO2]n with layer thicknesses of 2–4nm were fabricated on the (001)-surface of Si substrates by the ion-beam deposition technique. The complex dielectric function was studied in the spectral range of 0.6–5.6eV using the optical ellipsometry and analyzed using the optical matrix technique for reflection response of lossy isotropic multilayer dielectric structures and an anisotropic effective medium approximation. Magnetic characteristics of the structures were determined by using the magneto-optical Kerr effect. Obtained results allow us to conclude that these nanosized ferromagnetic metal-dielectric structures may be regarded as artificial uniaxial media exhibiting a strong optical and magnetic anisotropy at room temperature.