Enhanced magneto-optical effect in one-dimensional spin photonic crystals

Spin photonic crystals (SPCs) are very interesting for information technology which requires advanced solutions for heavy communication traffic, high-density storage, and high-speed computing. By using external magnetic field, for instance, the optical properties of SPCs can be tuned. By using the interference pattern of two femtosecond-laser beams, a selective-area annealing of the as-deposited Co$_{2}$MnSi film was achieved and one-dimensional SPCs were fabricated. The atomic-force-microscopy results confirmed that regularly-spaced alternating lines with a periodicity of 2 $\mu $m were produced, and the magnetic-force-microscopy studies revealed the same periodic patterns of magnetic domains. The longitudinal Kerr rotations of the p-polarized zeroth-order and first-order diffracted beams were measured. The longitudinal Kerr rotation of the first-order diffracted beam turns out to be nearly 28 times larger with respect to the zeroth-order one.