A chemical-ordering-induced peak in the polar magneto-optical Kerr effect spectra of FePt compounds is found to be in quantitative agreement with predictions based on ab initio magneto-optical calculations. Experimental spectra of epitaxial molecular-beam-epitaxy grown FePt(001) films reveal a more than twofold enhancement of the Kerr rotation if full chemical ordering is present. A spectral feature at 2-eV photon energy shows a peak Kerr rotation of up to ∼0.8°, which is strongly correlated with the presence of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in ordered compound films.

• Received 17 March 1994

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.50.3419