Enhancement of Faraday effect in one-dimensional magneto-optical photonic crystal including a magnetic layer with wavelength dependent off-diagonal elements of dielectric constant tensor

Abstract Optical and magneto-optical properties of one-dimensional magneto-optical photonic crystal (1-D MPC) prepared by the sol–gel dip-coating method, including a magnetic defect layer composed of mixture of CoFe 2 O 4 and SiO 2 , are investigated from both the experimental and theoretical standpoints. The resonant transmission of light was observed around 570 nm in the photonic band gap. The Faraday rotation angle θ F showed two maxima at 490 and 640 nm, and the wavelength dependence of θ F above 760 nm was similar to that of the CoFe 2 O 4 +SiO 2 single-layer film. The two maxima of θ F are attributed to the enhanced Faraday rotation of nonmagnetic TiO 2 layers in the cavity structure and that in magnetic CoFe 2 O 4 +SiO 2 layer through the light localization in MPC. The maximum value of θ F due to the magnetic CoFe 2 O 4 +SiO 2 layer in the MPC was 22-times larger than that in the single-layer film. The simulation study of MPC with CoFe 2 O 4 +SiO 2 magnetic defect layer, based on the matrix approach method, showed that the resonant light transmission was accompanied by the localization of electric field, and large enhancement of θ F appeared at different wavelengths so as to agree with the experimental features. This can be explained in terms of the wavelength dependent off-diagonal components of the dielectric constant tensor in addition to the large extinction coefficient in the CoFe 2 O 4 +SiO 2 magnetic defect layer.