Second harmonic generation in structures with inhomogeneous magnetization distribution

Abstract

The study of the interaction of laser radiation with ferromagnetic materials is not only an inexhaustible source of new effects, but also provides an opportunity to study magnetic media at the micro- and macroscale. This is especially important for the development of modern technologies to produce structures with fundamentally new magnetic and optical properties that can’t be observed in natural materials. The review presents the results of studies of nonlinear optical effects in ferromagnetic nano- and microstructures, as well as films of different compositions. The unique capabilities of nonlinear-optical diagnostics of anisotropic, vortex, exchange-biased magnetic structures, visualization of the micromagnetic structure of the surface layers of ferrite garnets, based both on the high sensitivity of the optical second harmonic generation method to the magnetic state of nanostructures and interfaces, and on the symmetry properties of high-order magnetizationinduced susceptibility tensor have been demonstrated.