Evidence of native oxides on the capping and substrate of Permalloy gratings by magneto-optical spectroscopy in the zeroth- and first-diffraction orders

Magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) spectroscopy in the zeroth- and first-diffraction orders at polar magnetization is applied to Permalloy wire gratings deposited on Si substrates and protected by Cr capping. The experimental MOKE data are compared with data simulated using the local modes method. The extensive simulations of the MOKE spectroscopic parameters exhibit significant sensitivity to t(Cr2O3) and t(SiO2), the thicknesses of native oxide layers developed on the capping and the substrate, respectively. The approach may be useful for monitoring the basic micromagnetic properties of small elements with nanometer-scale resolution, as well as for monitoring the deposition processes and aging of magnetic nanostructures in magnetic recording and magnetic random access memory technologies.