Surface plasmon resonance enhanced transverse magneto-optical Kerr effect and the detection performance of nanopore arrays

The introduction of a magnetic component to the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) structure to form a magneto-optical surface plasmonic resonance (MOSPR) detector is an effective method for enhancing the detection limit for small molecules at low concentrations. This is important for biosensing, early disease diagnosis, drug discovery, and the detection of contamination in solutions and gases. In this study, a MOSPR crystal composed of a Co6Ag94 slab covered by a subwavelength periodic square array of gold (Au) nanopores was designed to theoretically examine the mechanism by which MOSPR crystals detect glucose concentrations through the transverse magneto-optical Kerr effect (T-MOKE). Owing to the excitation of SPR at the interface between the glucose solution and Au film, a Fano-like sharp T-MOKE spectrum with a narrow linewidth and a high amplitude was obtained, thus producing a high sensitivity of 159° RIU−1 and a high figure of merit (FOM) of the order of 103 RIU−1. This corresponds to a glucose detection limit of 0.0066 g/ml, which is more accurate than that previously reported. This design provides an alternative method for detecting analytes’ concentrations in aqueous environments.

Theoretical Study on Metasurfaces for Transverse Magneto-Optical Kerr Effect Enhancement of Ultra-Thin Magnetic Dielectric Films

We study how to enhance the transverse magneto-optical Kerr effect (TMOKE) of ultra-thin magnetic dielectric films through the excitation of strong magnetic resonances on metasurface with a metal nanowire array stacked above a metal substrate with an ultra-thin magnetic dielectric film spacer. The plasmonic hybridizations between the Au nanowires and substrate result in magnetic resonances. The periodic arrangement of the Au nanowires can excite propagating surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) on the metal surface. When the SPPs and the magnetic resonances hybridize, they can strongly couple to form two strong magnetic resonances, which are explained by a coupled oscillator model. Importantly, benefitting from the strong magnetic resonances, we can achieve a large TMOKE signal up to 26% in the ultra-thin magnetic dielectric film with a thickness of only 30 nm, which may find potential applications in nanophotonics, magnonics, and spintronics.

Surface Magnetization Reversal of Wiegand Wire Measured by the Magneto-Optical Kerr Effect

The Wiegand wire is known to exhibit a unique feature of fast magnetization reversal in the magnetically soft region accompanied by a large Barkhausen jump. We clarified a significant difference between the magnetization reversals at the surface and at the entire cross section of a Wiegand wire. We conducted magnetization measurements based on the magneto-optical Kerr effect and applied conventional methods to determine the magnetization curves. The switching field of the magnetization reversal at the surface was greater than that at the initiation of a large Barkhausen jump. Our analysis suggests that the outer surface layer exhibits low coercivity.

Quasi-Static Strain Governing Ultrafast Spin Dynamics

The quasi-static strain (QSS) is the product induced by the lattice thermal expansion after ultrafast photo-excitation. Although the QSS and thermal effects are barely distinguishable in time, they should be treated separately because of their different fundamental actions to ultrafast spin dynamics. By employing ultrafast Sagnac interferometry and the magneto-optical Kerr effect, we demonstrate quantitatively the existence of QSS and the decoupling of two effects counteracting each other in typical polycrystalline Co and Ni films. The Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert and Kittel equations considering a magnetoelastic energy term showed that QSS, rather than the thermal energy, in ferromagnets plays a governing role in ultrafast spin dynamics. This demonstration provides an essential way to analyze ultrafast photo-induced phenomena.