Abstract:
The results of a theory of near-field magneto-optical microscopy with a linear probe scanning the near-surface region of a sample are presented. A cylindrical nanowire supporting surface plasmons is considered as a model of the probe. The polar magneto-optical Kerr effect is studied in scattering of light by near-surface nanowire and magnetic nanodomain. The problem is solved self-consistently in the dipolar interactions of the nanowire with the sample surface and in magnetization-linear approximation of magneto-optics. The near-field magneto-optical response depending on the distance between probe and domain is obtained, and the microscopy resolving power is estimated.