Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 31, 2026

Spectral and Angle-Resolved Magneto-Optical Characterization of Photonic Nanostructures
Published on: November 21, 2019
Optical magnetic circular dichroism in threshold photoemission from a magnetite thin film
1Institut für Physik, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Staudinger Weg 7, D-55128 Mainz, Germany.
Abstract:
Threshold photoemission excited by polarization-modulated ultraviolet femtosecond laser light is exploited for phase-sensitive detection of magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) for a magnetite thin film. Magnetite (Fe(3)O(4)) shows a magnetic circular dichroism of ∼(4.5 ± 0.3) × 10(-3) for perpendicularly incident circularly polarized light and a magnetization vector switched parallel and antiparallel to the helicity vector by an external magnetic field. The asymmetry in threshold photoemission is discussed in comparison to the magneto-optical Kerr effect. The optical MCD contrast in threshold photoemission will provide a basis for future laboratory photoemission studies on magnetic surfaces.
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.
π Electron Effects on Chemical Shift: Overview
Ferromagnetism
Paramagnetism
Magnetostatic Boundary Conditions

