The magneto-optical properties of Co microsquare— 2 μm edge—arrays have been investigated for different interelement separations, from 0.2 to 2.0 μm . The magneto-optical response is measured both at reflected and diffracted beams, and it is compared with the results of a model that uses micromagnetic simulations and optical diffraction theory to calculate the magneto-optical response for different diffracted spots. A satisfactory agreement between the experiments and the predictions from the combined micromagnetic and optical diffraction models allows the interpretation of the experimental data and provides a way to analyze and understand the physical meaning of the magneto-optic diffracted signal. The comparison of this diffracted magneto-optical experimental data with predictions from simple reversal models allows us to monitor different element magnetization reversal mechanisms as the separation between elements in the array varies.

R.A.S. acknowledges support from the “Consejería de Educación de la Comunidad de Madrid.” Research funded through EC-G5RD-CT-2002–00731 HIDEMAR project.

Peer reviewed