Optical and magneto-optical properties of single crystals of RFe{sub 2} (R = Gd, Tb, Ho, and Lu) and GdCo{sub 2} intermetallic compounds

The author has studied the diagonal and off-diagonal optical conductivity of RFe{sub 2}(R = Gd, Tb, Ho, Lu) and GdCo{sub 2} single crystals grown by the flux method. Using spectroscopic ellipsometry the author has measured the dielectric function from 1.5 to 5.5 eV. The magneto-optical Kerr spectrometer at temperatures between 7 and 295 K and applied magnetic fields between 0.5 to 1.6 T. The apparatus and calibration method are described in detail. Using magneto-optical data and optical constants he derives the experimental value of the off-diagonal conductivity components. Theoretical calculations of optical conductivities and magneto-optical parameters were performed using the tight binding-linear muffin tin orbitals method within the local spin density approximation. He applied this TB-LMTO method to LuFe{sub 2}. The theoretical results obtained agree well with the experimental data. The oxidation effects on the diagonal part of the optical conductivity were considered using a three-phase model. The oxidation effects on the magneto-optical parameters were also considered by treating the oxide layer as a nonmagnetic thin transparent layer. These corrections change not only the magnitude but also the shape of the optical conductivity and the magneto-optical parameters