Effects of Sm Substitution on Magnetic and Magneto-Optical Properties of TbCo/Cr Films

The effects of Sm substitution on magnetic and magneto-optical properties of TbCo/Cr films have been investigated. It was found that partial Tb substituted by Sm will directly affect the magnitude of saturation magnetization Ms and the Kerr rotation angle. These results are explained by the ferri-magnetical structure of the rare earth-transition metal alloy. When the magnetic layer composition was (Sm_0.343Tb_0.657)₃₁Co₆₉, values of magnetization as high as 385 emu/cm³ and coercivity above 4.7 kOe at room temperature were obtained.