Surfaces that are nanopatterned, metallic, and magnetic can support surface plasmon resonances, providing an alternative and effective way to reconfigure flat optical components. Utilising a range of near- and far-field characterisation techniques, the optical and magneto-optical properties of lithographically patterned thin magnetic films are investigated. A magneto-optical diffractometer was designed, assembled, and commissioned to characterise periodic magneto-plasmonic nanostructures. For Ni and Co nanostructured antidot arrays, enhanced values of the magneto-optical Kerr rotation were recorded for energies and angles corresponding to excitations of surface plasmon polaritons. This enhancement was found to be thickness dependent. Modification of the optical properties via applied transverse magnetic fields and the excitation of surface plasmon polaritons, was demonstrated for an antidot array of pure Ni. The excitation was also shown to enhance the generation of second harmonics, as well as further activate nonlinear-optical mechanisms. In order to fully resolve and explain the source of this remarkable magneto-optical activity, near field probing techniques were used. This allows for mapping the electric near-field with a sub-wavelength resolution, thereby revealing the interplay between the light and the nanostructured lattice. The measurements show that the electric near field intensification, induced by plasmon excitation, increases the polarisation conversion, which correlates to the observed magneto-optical Kerr rotation.

The Faraday rotation spectrum of composites containing magnetite nanoparticles is found to be dependent on the interparticle spacing of the constituent nanoparticles. The composite materials are prepared by combining chemicallysynthesized Fe3O4 (magnetite) nanoparticles (8 nm diameter) and poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA). Composites are made containing a range of nanoparticle concentrations. The peak of the main spectral feature depends on nanoparticle concentration; this peak is observed to shift from approximately 470 nm for (dilute composites) to 560 nm (concentrated). A theory is presented based on the dipole approximation which accounts for optical coupling between magnetite particles. Qualitative correlations between theoretical calculations and experimental data suggest the shifts in spectral peak position depend on both interparticle distance and geometrical configuration.

No description available.

Neste trabalho, utilizando técnicas magneto-ópticas, estudamos tempos de relaxação spin-rede (T1) do estado fundamental de centros \'F\' e, cristais de halogenetos alcalinos (KCl-KBr). Descrevemos um sistema semi-automático para medidas ópticas de T1, capaz de medir tempos de relação curtos (~1mS), baseado na medida do Dicroísmo Circular magnético (DCM) que apresentam aqueles sais quando portadores de centros paramagnéticos. Obtivemos a dependência de T1 com o campo magnético H (até 65 Kgauss), bem como os espectros de DCM para diferentes concentrações nas matrizes mistas. Uma teoria desenvolvida por Panepucci e Mollenauer (1) para matrizes puras, foi adaptadas para explicar a relaxação spin-rede nos cristais mistos. Os resultados obtidos para o processo direto (T~2.0 K), confrontados com auqela teoria, mostram que o mecanismo de relaxação dominante até 25 KGauss continua sendo a modulação por fônons da interação hiperfins entre o elétron \'F\' e os núcleos vizinhos. / Using magneto-optic techniques we have studied the ground state spin- lattice relaxation times (T1) of \'F\' centers in mixed Alkali Halide cristals (KCl-KBr). We describe a computer assisted system to optically measure short relaxation times (~1mS). The technique is based on the measurement of the Magnetic Circular Dicroism (MCD) presented by F centers. We obtained the T1 magnetic field dependency at 2 K up to 65 kGauss), as well as the MCD spectra for different relative concentration at the mixed matrices. The theory developed by Panepucci and Mollenauer for F centers spin-lattice relaxation in pure matrices was modified to explain the behavior of T1 in mixed cristais. The Direct Process results (T~2.0 K) compared against that theory shows that the main relaxation mecanism, Up to 25 kGauss, continues to be phonon modulation of the hyperfine interaction between \'F\' electrons and surrounding nuclei.

Neste trabalho, utilizando técnicas magneto-ópticas, estudamos tempos de relaxação spin-rede (T1) do estado fundamental de centros \'F\' e, cristais de halogenetos alcalinos (KCl-KBr). Descrevemos um sistema semi-automático para medidas ópticas de T1, capaz de medir tempos de relação curtos (~1mS), baseado na medida do Dicroísmo Circular magnético (DCM) que apresentam aqueles sais quando portadores de centros paramagnéticos. Obtivemos a dependência de T1 com o campo magnético H (até 65 Kgauss), bem como os espectros de DCM para diferentes concentrações nas matrizes mistas. Uma teoria desenvolvida por Panepucci e Mollenauer (1) para matrizes puras, foi adaptadas para explicar a relaxação spin-rede nos cristais mistos. Os resultados obtidos para o processo direto (T~2.0 K), confrontados com auqela teoria, mostram que o mecanismo de relaxação dominante até 25 KGauss continua sendo a modulação por fônons da interação hiperfins entre o elétron \'F\' e os núcleos vizinhos. / Using magneto-optic techniques we have studied the ground state spin- lattice relaxation times (T1) of \'F\' centers in mixed Alkali Halide cristals (KCl-KBr). We describe a computer assisted system to optically measure short relaxation times (~1mS). The technique is based on the measurement of the Magnetic Circular Dicroism (MCD) presented by F centers. We obtained the T1 magnetic field dependency at 2 K up to 65 kGauss), as well as the MCD spectra for different relative concentration at the mixed matrices. The theory developed by Panepucci and Mollenauer for F centers spin-lattice relaxation in pure matrices was modified to explain the behavior of T1 in mixed cristais. The Direct Process results (T~2.0 K) compared against that theory shows that the main relaxation mecanism, Up to 25 kGauss, continues to be phonon modulation of the hyperfine interaction between \'F\' electrons and surrounding nuclei.

The magnetization dynamics in ferromagnetic materials will depend on the specific shape of the system’s energy landscape. In most systems, the energy landscapes can be approximated as paraboloids, resulting in a typical ellipti- cal precession of the magnetization. However, this model is not always appli- cable to more complex potentials, which can present exotic precessions. The aim of this project was to measure the magnetization dynamics in a system where a non-parabolic potential was expected. From the dynamics, it would then be possible to estimate the energy potential of the system. In order to measure magnetization dynamics, time-resolved MOKE (magneto-optic Kerr effect) measurements were performed using a pump-and-probe tech- nique. A permalloy (Fe20Ni80) thin film with an uniaxial in-plane anisotropy was used as a sample, presumably presenting a bistable energy potential with two close minima at certain applied external magnetic fields. By measuring one component of the magnetization in the plane of the sample, the shape of the precession in this landscape could be extracted. The results show the expected parabolic precessions at higher external fields, from which energy landscapes could be constructed. The dynamics measured at one particular field also indicate a bistable energy potential although no exotic precessions were found.

The advancement of photonics technologies depends on synthesis of novel materials and processes for device fabrication. The characterization techniques of the optical, electrical and magnetic properties of the synthesized materials and devices, by non-contact, non-invasive and nondestructive methods plays a significant role in development of new photonics technologies. The research reported in this thesis focuses on two such aspects of photonic materials characterization: Magneto-Optic characterization and Spectroscopic Ellipsometry. The theoretical and experimental basis of these two techniques, and experimental data analysis are presented in two parts. In Part 1, the changes in magneto-optic parameters of FePT PS-P2VP block copolymer nanocomposites with increasing concentrations of FePt nanoparticles in the block copolymer are analyzed. We present the results of change in MO anisotropy factor with the wt% of FePt and try to analyze these changes with further experimentation. Part 2 presents the results of spectroscopic ellipsometry of group III-IV multilayered thin film materials to give their precise thicknesses and optical constants. Both these techniques are unique ways to understand novel material characteristics for future use in device development.

Malgré l'attention massive que le graphène a attiré ces dernières années, beaucoup de questions concernant ses propriétés fondamentales restent sans réponse. Dans ce travail, nous présentons les résultats d'une série d'expériences de magnéto-optique effectuées sur des systèmes de type graphène différents. La spectroscopie de diffusion micro-Raman a été utilisée comme une méthode de choix, en raison de son caractère non invasif, des puissantes possibilités de caractérisation qu’elle offre, et de la haute résolution spatiale. Les champs magnétiques élevés ont aussi été utilisés pour permettre d’ajuster de manière continue l'énergie des excitations électroniques inter-niveau de Landau et de les amener en résonance avec d'autres excitations existant dans le système. L’étude de l'évolution des excitations inter-niveau de Landau sous champs magnétique et les détails de la résonance magnéto-phonon, nous ont fourni des informations importantes sur les détails de l'interaction électron-phonon dans le graphène. Trois types de graphène différents sont étudiés dans ce manuscrit. Le premier se compose de flocons de graphène qui peuvent être trouvés sur la surface de graphite. Il est peut-être le système de graphène le moins étudié, mais est celui qui présente la qualité électronique la plus élevé. Dans le chapitre 7, nous présentons les résultats de nos expériences de diffusion magnéto-Raman sur ce système. Notre méthode de localisation de ces flocons à l'aide ou non d'un champ magnétique est présenté. L'évolution des excitations électroniques dans des champs magnétiques est discutée. Les effets de la température, la longueur d'onde d'excitation et de couplage différent sur le substrat sont présentés. Nous démontrons que, pour des champs magnétiques élevés une structure fine des principales excitations électroniques inter-bande se développe, et est discutée en termes de dopage et d’asymétrie électron-trou. Un nouveau type de résonance électron-phonon est observée, qui implique une diffusion inter-vallée des porteurs et l’émission d'un phonon au point K. Un procédé analogue pour les phonons du voisinage du point Γ est observé. Le deuxième système étudié est constitué d'un flocon de graphène encapsulé entre deux couches de nitrure de bore hexagonal (hBN) plat à l’échelle atomique. Il est le représentant d'une nouvelle classe de matériaux, où les différents cristaux 2D, sont empilés les uns sur les autres dans un ordre prédéfini, pour modifier certaines propriétés de ses constituants. Déposer le graphène sur une mince couche de hBN améliore largement ses propriétés électroniques, en comparaison à du graphène déposée sur Si/SiO2. Dans le chapitre 8, nous présentons des résultats obtenus sur ce système. Nous montrons comment la cartographie spatiale associée à la technique de spectroscopie Raman peut être utilisé pour la caractérisation et la visualisation sélective des composants individuels et des structures complexes empilés. La première observation non ambiguë de la résonance magnéto-phonon et d’une excitation électronique (L -1,1) dans du graphene exfolié neutre est présentée. Une dépendance de la vitesse de Fermi par rapport au champ magnétique est démontrée. En outre, la dépendance de la vitesse de Fermi et d’énergie de bande 2D sur le substrat est observée et discutée en termes de d’écrantage diélectrique de l'interaction électron-électron.Le dernier système étudié sont des flocons de graphène produit par croissance CVD, avec des contacts électriques. Dans le chapitre 9, nous détaillons les résultats d'une expérience, où la force de l'interaction électron-phonon dans un échantillon de graphène avec une grille électrostatique, peut être ajustée, avec succès, par la tension de grille appliquée. Nous comparons ces résultats avec les calculs théoriques et nous montrons que les excitations électroniques intra-bande jouent un rôle important dans la renormalisation de l'énergie des phonons. / Despite the massive attention that graphene has attracted in recent years, there are still many unanswered questions about its fundamental properties. In this work we present the results of a series of magneto-optical experiments performed on different graphene systems. The micro-Raman scattering spectroscopy was used as our method of choice, due to its non-invasive character, powerful characterization possibilities and high spatial resolution. The high magnetic fields were used to continuously tune the energy of inter-Landau level electronic excitations into a resonance with other excitations existing in the system. The magnetic field evolution of Raman active inter-Landau level excitations, and the details of the magneto-phonon resonance, gave us important information about the details of the electron-phonon interaction in graphene. Three different types of graphene are studied in this work. The first one consists of graphene flakes that can be found on the surface of graphite. It is possibly the least investigated graphene system, yet the one that shows the highest electronic quality. In Chapter 7 we present results of our magneto-Raman scattering experiments on this system. Our method for locating these flakes with the use of the magnetic field and without it is presented. The evolution of electronic excitations in magnetic fields is discussed. The effects of temperature, excitation wavelength and different coupling to the substrate are shown. We demonstrate that at high magnetic fields a fine-structure of the principal interband electronic excitation develops and discuss it in terms of doping and electron-hole asymmetry. A new type of a resonant electron-phonon interaction is observed, which involve an inter-valley carrier scattering and an emission of a K-point phonon. An analogous process for the phonons from the vicinity of the Γ point is observed.The second studied system consists of a graphene flake encapsulated between two layers of atomically flat hexagonal boron nitride (hBN). It is a representative of a novel class of materials, where different 2D crystals, are stacked on top of each other in a predefined order, to modify some properties of its constituents. Depositing graphene on a thin layer of hBN is expected to largely improve its electronic properties, as compared to graphene deposited on Si/SiO2. In Chapter 8 we present results obtained on such system. We show how spatial mapping with Raman scattering technique can be used for characterization and selective visualization of each constituent of the complex, stacked structures. A first, clear observation of a magneto-phonon resonance and L(-1,1) electronic excitation in an intrinsic, exfoliated graphene is shown. The Fermi velocity dependence on the magnetic field is demonstrated. Also, the Fermi velocity and 2D band energy dependence on the substrate is observed and discussed in terms of dielectric screening of the electron-electron interaction.The last studied system is the CVD grown graphene flake with electrical contacts. In Chapter 9 we show the results of an experiment, where strength of the electron-phonon interaction in a gated, CVD grown, graphene was successfully tuned by the applied gate voltage. We compare these results with the theoretical calculations and show that the intra-band electronic excitations play an important role in the renormalization of the phonon energy.

Temperature dependent magnetization measurements were conducted on Fe-based heterostructures. A linear increase of the magnetic critical temperature with increasing Fe thickness was found for Fe/V superlattices with strong interlayer exchange coupling. For weakly coupled Fe/V superlattices anomalous values of the critical exponent β were attributed to differences in the effective interlayer exchange coupling in the surface region and in the interior of the superlattice stack. Hydrogen loading of a sample containing a thin Fe film, up to a maximum pressure of 4 mbar gave an increase of the magnetic critical temperature of ≈21 K. A sample with a double layer of Fe, exchange coupled over V, showed oscillations in the critical temperature when loaded to increasing pressure of hydrogen. The oscillations in the critical temperature indicate the presence of quasi-2D phases. Superlattices of Fe and V were investigated by x-ray magnetic circular dichroism. It was found that the orbital magnetic moment shows the same trend as the magnetic anisotropy energy with thickness of the Fe layers. A model which takes into account a varying strain and interface density successfully described the changes in the orbital magnetic moment. The magnetization was measured as a function of temperature for a series of magnetically δ-doped Pd samples. A thin film of Fe induced a magnetic moment in surrounding Pd layers, leading to a magnetic thickness one order of magnitude larger than the thickness of the Fe film. A crossover in the magnetic spatial dimensionality was found as the thickness of the Fe film increased from ≈0.4 monolayers to ≈1 monolayer. First principle calculations of the magnetization profile together with a spin wave quantum well model were used to explain the dimensionality crossover by an increase in the available thermal energy for population of perpendicular spin wave modes.

L'utilisation de l'équation de Dirac/Weyl conduit à une simplification conceptuelle dans une description de la structure de la bande dans les solides à faible échelle d'énergie. En particulier, les excitations d'électrons-trous peuvent être considérées comme analogues au cas relativiste tel que conductivité optique linéaire, le suppression de backscattering ou la manifestation des arcs de Fermi et la chiralité des particules. En outre, la phase semi-métallique est également un élément crucial pour la classification des matériaux. La taille de le gap est affectée qualitativement par le type de dispersion d'énergie par un croisement continu des bandes linéaires à paraboliques. Cela peut être compris comme une limite classique ou ultra-relativiste du mouvement d'une particule massive.La spectroscopie infrarouge de la transformation de Fourier est une technique unique pour étudier les excitations optiques dans une large gamme d'énergies et représente en combinaison avec le champ magnétique élevé un outil puissant pour sondage de la structure électronique et surmonte le principal obstacle des systèmes sans gap qui est un dopage fort en raison de désordre structurel.La première partie du travail est consacrée à l'arséniure de cadmium, où nous élaborons une approche de distinction qualitative entre les systèmes Dirac et Kane qui ont été utilisés pour prouver sur la base de la réponse magnéto-optique observée la réalisation du modèle Kane presque sans gap avec une similitude frappante avec HgCdTe, en contradiction avec l'existence de cônes purement Dirac. La magnéto-réflectivité dans un champ magnétique à champ élevé la résonance cyclotron caractéristiques par un radical-B dépendance avec un comportement particulier dans la limite quantique. En revanche, la magnéto-transmission montrait des transitions de niveau Landau qui doit être interprétées que comme un type plat-à-cône afin de préserver une cohérence totale du modèle. Les cônes de Dirac prédits par la théorie sont susceptibles de coexister dans le modèle de Kane sous la forme d'une sous-structure décrite par le modèle de Bodnar qui se rapproche de la structure cristalline complexe par une simple cellule antifluorite qui permet d'utiliser la théorie du k.p classique.Dans la deuxième partie, nous nous concentrons sur le bismuth comme isolant topologique 3D archétype. Nous étudions une condition particulière obéie pour le BHZ-hamiltonien qui apporte des propriétés intriguantes comme une relation inhabituelle de spin gap et la résonance du cyclotron, l'épinglage spécifique entre les fancharts des sous-groupes Landau ou les g-facteurs compensés dans les bandes de conduction et de valence. Les mesures de photoluminescence ont montré une émission directgap, ce qui donne un nouvel aperçu de la structure largement acceptée à partir des données ARPES, où la “chameau structure” de la bande de valence doit être expliquée dans le confinement de surface et le point de Dirac de l'état de surface doit être repositionné par rapport aux bandes en bulk. La réponse magnéto-optique peut être pleinement expliquée dans une image classique du paramagnétisme de Pauli comme un simple effet d'occupation. Un tel comportement se manifeste dans la transmission en tant que fractionnement progressif du bord d'absorption interbande avec une saturation successive due à la polarisation spin partielle ou totale des électrons. Le dichroïsme relatif entraîne également une forte rotation de Faraday linéaire décrite par un modèle simple de la constante Verdet qui ne dépend pas sur le niveau de Fermi. / The use of the Dirac/Weyl equation leads to a conceptual simplification in a description of the band structure in solids at low energy scales. In particular, electron-hole excitations can be regarded as an analogue to the relativistic case with several expected phenomena to be observed in the condensed systems such as a suppressed back-scattering, linear optical conductivity or the manifestation of the Fermi arcs and particle's chirality. Moreover, the semimetallic phase also symbolizes a boundary between the trivial and topological insulators and thus play a crucial role for the material classification. The size of the gap qualitatively affects the type of the energy dispersion by a continuous crossover from the linear to parabolic bands. This fact can be easily understood as a classical or ultra-relativistic limit of the motion of a free massive particle.Infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy is a unique technique for studying optical excitations in a wide range of energies and it represents in combination with the high magnetic field a powerful tool for probing electronic structure and overcomes the main obstacle of the gapless systems that is a strong doping due to the structural disorder.The first part of the work is devoted to cadmium arsenide, where we elaborate an approach to qualitatively distinguish between the Dirac and Kane systems that was used to prove on the basis of the observed magneto-optical response the realization of the nearly gapless Kane model with a striking similarity to HgCdTe, contradicting the existence of purely Dirac cones. The magneto-reflectivity revealed a strong splitting of the plasma edge that turns into the cyclotron resonance characteristic by a squareroot-of-B dependence in the high magnetic field with a particular behaviour in the quantum limit independent on the initial Fermi level. In contrast, the magneto-transmission revealed interband Landau level transitions that could be only interpreted as a flat-to-cone type in order to preserve a full consistency of the model. The Dirac cones predicted by theory are feasible to coexist within the Kane model in the form of a substructure described by the Bodnar model that approximates the complex crystal structure by a simple antifluorite cell, which allows to use the conventional k.p-theory.In the second part, we focus on bismuth selenide entitled as an archetypal 3D topological insulator. We study a peculiar condition fulfilled for the BHZ-hamiltonian that brings intriguing properties such as an unusual relation of the spin gap and cyclotron resonance, the specific pinning between fancharts of Landau subsets or the compensated g-factors of the conduction and valence bands. The photoluminescence measurements showed a direct-gap emission, that gives a new insight to the widely accepted structure from ARPES data, where the declared camel-back structure of the valence band needs to be explained within the surface confinement and the Dirac point of the surface state should be repositioned with respect to the bulk bands. The magneto-optical response can be fully explained in a classical picture of the Pauli paramagnetism as a purely occupational effect. Such behaviour is evinced in the transmission as a gradual splitting of the interband absorption edge with a successive saturation due to the partial or total spin polarization of electrons. The related dichroism drives also a strong linear Faraday rotation described by a simple model of the Verdet constant that depends only on the Fermi level.