We performed generalized Mueller matrix ellipsometry measurements in a magnetic field of arbitrary orientation and magnitude up to 400 mT at room temperature and probed the magneto-optical response of capped, ferromagnetic Fe, Ni${}_{20}$Fe${}_{80}$, Co, Ni${}_{80}$Fe${}_{20}$, and Ni thin films on ZnO substrates in the spectral range from 300 to 1100 nm. We determined the off-diagonal elements in the magneto-optical dielectric tensor under saturated magnetization conditions in the sample surface plane via a model analysis. The off-diagonal elements depend on the net spin polarization and the electronic band structure of the ferromagnetic thin films. For the pure ferromagnetic metals Fe, Co, and Ni, the converted off-diagonal elements agree well with the reported experimental optical conductivity data. As a result we use the extracted wavelength-dependent magneto-optical coupling constant to predict the wavelength-dependent magneto-optical response of different Ni/Fe multilayer structures.

• Received 3 June 2011

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.84.094413