Coupled mode enhanced giant magnetoplasmonics transverse Kerr effect

Abstract

We show that the enhancement of the transverse magneto-optical Kerr effect of a smooth magnetic dielectric film covered by a noble metal grating, is strongly dependent on the precise geometry of this grating. Up till now this magnetoplasmonic enhancement was solely attributed to a nonreciprocal shift of the dispersion of the surface plasmon polariton resonances at the interface with the magnetized substrate. It is demonstrated that by hybridization of surface and cavity resonances in this 1D plasmonic grating, the transverse Kerr effect can be further enhanced, extinguished or even switched in sign and that without inverting or modifying the film’s magnetization. This strong geometrical dispersion and the accompanying anomalous sign change of the magneto-plasmonic effects in such systems has never been considered before, and might find interesting applications in sensing and nanophotonics.