Physics – Optics
Scientific paper
2009-07-17
Physics
Optics
Scientific paper
We measure the infrared (wavelength 11 - 0.8 microns; energy E = 0.1 - 1.5 eV) Faraday rotation and ellipticity in GaAs, BaF2, LaSrGaO4, LaSrAlO4, and ZnSe. Since these materials are commonly used as substrates and windows in infrared magneto-optical measurements, it is important to measure their Faraday signals for background subtraction. These measurement also provide a rigorous test of the accuracy and sensitivity of our unique magneto-polarimetry system. The light sources used in these measurements consist of gas and semiconductor lasers, which cover 0.1 - 1.3 eV, as well as a custom-modified prism monochromator with a Xe lamp, which allows continuous broadband measurements in the 0.28 - 1.5 eV energy range. The sensitivity of this broad-band system is approximately 10 micro-rad. Our measurements reveal that the Verdet coefficients of these materials are proportional to $1/\lambda^2$, which is expected when probing with radiation energies below the band gap. Reproducible ellipticity signals are also seen, which is unexpected since the radiation is well below the absorption edge of these materials, where no magnetic circular dichroism or magnetic linear birefringence should occur. We suggest that the Faraday ellipticity is produced by the static retardance (Rs) of the photoelastic modulator (PEM) and other optical elements such as windows, which convert the polarization rotation produced by the sample into ellipticity. This static retardance is experimentally determined by the ratio of the Faraday rotation and ellipticity signals, which are induced by either applying a magnetic field to a sample or mechanically rotating the polarization of light incident on the PEM and/or other optical components.
Acbas G.
Cerne John
Ellis C. T.
Kim Myung-Hwan
Kurz V.
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