Fully relativistic spin-polarized LMTO calculations of the magneto-optical Kerr effect ofdandfferromagnetic materials. I. Chromium spinel chalcogenides

CuCr₂Se₄ is one of the few compounds that exhibits a magneto-optical (MO) Kerr angle of greater than one degree at room temperature. To better understand the origin of this effect, the MO properties of ferromagnetic CuCr₂X₄ (X=S,Se,Te) spinel chalcogenides are evaluated using fully relativistic local-density electronic structure calculations. Treating the $3d$ electronic states within the standard band description, excellent agreement with the measured MO spectra is obtained. The calculations are analyzed to further elucidate aspects of the Kerr rotation.