Improved magneto-optical imaging films employing surface plasmon resonance

Magneto-optical imagers convert magnetic field information to visual information with very high speed and high spatial and magnetic field resolutions. However, the performance requirements of the market place have gone beyond what older technology can deliver. Improved magneto-optical imaging films (MOIF) employing Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR), present an opportunity to greatly enhance magnetic field imaging capabilities in science and industrial applications. The basis of the SPR-enhanced MOIF film and of a visualizer utilizing such films is the enhancement of the polarization rotation due to the interaction of the light with the surface plasmons excited across the MOIF film surface. The theory of SPR-enhancement of MOIF films was created, the fabrication procedure for SPR-enhanced MOIF films was developed and the enhancement of the imaging quality of the SPR-enhanced MOIF film over non-SPR-enhanced MOIF film was experimentally demonstrated.