Magnetic properties of ferromagnetic thin films obtained by magneto-optic kerr effect measurements

A system based on the Magneto-Optic Kerr Effect for contactless characterization of magnetic thin films has been developed. The system is made of a 635 nm laser source, two polarizers and a photo elastic modulator. The light is reflected on a thin film of magnetic material placed in the air gap of an Helmholtz pair in the longitudinal configuration. MOKE measurements have been performed to investigate the magnetic properties of thin films of different materials, as FeNi (Permalloy) and SmCo with different thicknesses, grown by magnetron sputtering and pulsed laser deposition techniques, respectively. Key magnetic features of the films are reported, as well as preliminary Kerr parameters obtained from measurements. © 2014 IEEE.