Extreme anti-reflection enhanced magneto-optic Kerr effect microscopy

Dongha Kim, Young-Wan Oh, Jong Uk Kim, Soogil Lee, Arthur Baucour, Jonghwa Shin, Kab-Jin Kim, Byong-Guk Park and Min-Kyo Seo ()
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Dongha Kim: Department of Physics, KAIST
Young-Wan Oh: Institute for the NanoCentury, KAIST
Jong Uk Kim: Institute for the NanoCentury, KAIST
Soogil Lee: Institute for the NanoCentury, KAIST
Arthur Baucour: Institute for the NanoCentury, KAIST
Jonghwa Shin: Institute for the NanoCentury, KAIST
Kab-Jin Kim: Department of Physics, KAIST
Byong-Guk Park: Institute for the NanoCentury, KAIST
Min-Kyo Seo: Department of Physics, KAIST

Nature Communications, 2020, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Magnetic and spintronic media have offered fundamental scientific subjects and technological applications. Magneto-optic Kerr effect (MOKE) microscopy provides the most accessible platform to study the dynamics of spins, magnetic quasi-particles, and domain walls. However, in the research of nanoscale spin textures and state-of-the-art spintronic devices, optical techniques are generally restricted by the extremely weak magneto-optical activity and diffraction limit. Highly sophisticated, expensive electron microscopy and scanning probe methods thus have come to the forefront. Here, we show that extreme anti-reflection (EAR) dramatically improves the performance and functionality of MOKE microscopy. For 1-nm-thin Co film, we demonstrate a Kerr amplitude as large as 20° and magnetic domain imaging visibility of 0.47. Especially, EAR-enhanced MOKE microscopy enables real-time detection and statistical analysis of sub-wavelength magnetic domain reversals. Furthermore, we exploit enhanced magneto-optic birefringence and demonstrate analyser-free MOKE microscopy. The EAR technique is promising for optical investigations and applications of nanomagnetic systems.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19724-7

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