This paper describes the magneto-optical effects of metallic multilayers under the condition of total internal reflection. In the framework of Green’s dyadic technique, we detail a practical and at time-consuming scheme to compute accurately the optical properties of anisotropic multilayers deposited on a substrate. We present numerical simulations which account for the variation of the angle of incidence at a fixed wavelength and for the variation of the wavelength at fixed angle of incidence. The Kerr rotation is found to increase significantly around the critical angle for total reflection. We also discuss the importance of plasmon effects in the structure of the Kerr rotation spectra.

• Received 24 June 1998

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.59.5936