High-Refractive-Index Materials for Giant Enhancement of the Transverse Magneto-Optical Kerr Effect

• Published in: Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 20; no. 4; p. 952
• Main Authors: Moncada-Villa, Edwin, Mejía-Salazar, J Ricardo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI 11-02-2020; MDPI AG
• Subjects: fabry–perot resonances; hri materials; magneto-optics
• ISSN: 1424-8220; 1424-8220
• DOI: 10.3390/s20040952

The ability of plasmonic structures to confine and enhance light at nanometer length scales has been traditionally exploited to boost the magneto-optical effects in magneto-plasmonic structures. These platforms allows for light control via externally applied magnetic fields, which is of prime importance for sensing, data storage, optical-isolation, and telecommunications applications. However, applications are hindered by the high-level of ohmic losses associated to metallic and ferromagnetic components. Here, we use a lossless all-dielectric platform for giant enhancement of the magneto-optical effects. Our structure consists of a high-refractive index dielectric film on top of a magnetic dielectric substrate. We numerically demonstrate an extraordinarily enhanced transverse magneto-optical Kerr effect due to the Fabry-Perot resonances supported by the high-refractive index slab. Potential applications for sensing and biosensing are also illustrated in this work.