Surface plasmon resonance and magneto-optical enhancement on Au-Co nano-composite thin films...

We present our investigations on the enhancement of magneto-optical effects in nano-composite Au-Co thin films. All the samples in this study were obtained by co-sputter deposition varying the relative Au:Co composition and the growth temperature. A strong enhancement of the transverse magneto-optical activity is observed when surface plasmons are excited in the Krestchmann configuration. The correlation between the nano-composite films microstructure, morphology, composition, and their optical response under surface plasmon resonance excitation and their magneto-optical enhancement leading to enhanced sensing capability is discussed.