The nonlinear magneto-optical response of s- and d-wave superconductors is discussed. We carry out the symmetry analysis of the nonlinear magneto-optical susceptibility in the superconducting state. Due to the surface sensitivity of the nonlinear optical response for systems with bulk inversion symmetry, we perform a group-theoretical classification of the superconducting order parameter close to a surface. The mixing of singlet and triplet pairing states induced by spin-orbit coupling is systematically taken into account. We show that the interference of singlet and triplet pairing states leads to an observable contribution of the nonlinear magneto-optical Kerr effect. This effect is not only sensitive to the anisotropy of the gap function but also to the symmetry itself. In view of the current discussion of the order-parameter symmetry of high-${\mathit{T}}_{\mathit{c}}$ superconductors, results for a tetragonal system with bulk singlet pairing for various pairing symmetries are discussed. © 1996 The American Physical Society.

• Received 28 August 1995

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.53.11860