Observation of magneto-optical second-harmonic generation with surface plasmon excitation in ultrathin Au/Co/Au films

Abstract

Attenuated total reflection measurements in the Kretschmann geometry have revealed nonlinear magnetooptical second-harmonic generation (SHG) related to the surface plasmon (SP) excitation in an ultrathin Au/Co/Au multilayer structure. The SH intensity drastically changes when the SPs couple with light at the fundamental frequency and the SH magnetic contrast reverses sign when the SPs are excited. Using the Green's function approach, a model is derived to describe the different contributions of the film interfaces to the SHG. The model agree well with observations.