Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 31, 2026

Radio Frequency Magnetron Sputtering of GdBa2Cu3O7−δ/ La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 Quasi-bilayer Films on SrTiO3 (STO) Single-crystal Substrates
Published on: April 12, 2019
Comparative study of optical and magneto-optical properties of GdFe(2) and GdCo(2)
Sapan Mohan Saini1, Nirpendra Singh, Tashi Nautiyal
1Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee 247667, India.
Abstract:
We report calculations of the optical and magneto-optical properties of GdFe(2) and GdCo(2) using the full-potential linear-augmented-plane-wave method. Calculations with the Coulomb corrected local spin density approximation (LSDA+U) give a better representation of the band structure, density of states and magnetic moments compared to LSDA alone. However, both LSDA and LSDA+U approximations give fairly good agreement with experiment for the diagonal optical conductivity. The calculated results for GdCo(2) are in better agreement with the 'oxide corrected' data. Our results suggest that the data for GdFe(2) are most likely influenced by surface oxidation, due to the high reactivity of these compounds. For the much smaller off-diagonal components and Kerr rotation, LSDA results are better than the LSDA+U results, particularly in the energy range 0-3 eV. We show that the unphysical negative ellipticity values are taken care of by the use of stronger relaxation, which also improves the qualitative agreement with experimental data. Overall we have obtained a fair agreement with the experimental data for both optical and magneto-optical properties. We feel that measurements over a larger energy range are required for facilitating an exhaustive and decisive comparison and also to strengthen the bond between theory and experiments.
Related Concept Videos
Colors and Magnetism
When atoms or molecules absorb light at the proper frequency, their electrons are excited to higher-energy orbitals. For many main group atoms and molecules, the absorbed photons are in the ultraviolet range of the electromagnetic spectrum, which cannot be detected by the human eye. For coordination compounds, the energy difference between the d orbitals often allows photons in the visible range to be absorbed and emitted, which is seen as colors by the human eye.
Diamagnetism
Diamagnetism was discovered by Anton Brugmans in 1778 when he observed that bismuth gets repelled by magnetic fields, thus theorizing that diamagnets get repelled by magnets.
Ferromagnetism
Stereoisomerism
Isomers are different chemical species that have the same chemical formula.
Transition metal complexes often exist as geometric isomers, in which the same atoms are connected through the same types of bonds but with differences in their orientation in space. Coordination complexes with two different ligands in the cis and trans positions from a ligand of interest form isomers. For example, the octahedral [Co(NH3)4Cl2]+ ion has two isomers (Figure 1) In the cis...
Properties of Enantiomers and Optical Activity
Valence Bond Theory
