3. Magneto-optical materials

As far as applications are concerned, two classes of magneto-optical materials can be distinguished.

• Transparent materials used for transmission must have either a high Verdet constant (diamagnetic or paramagnetic materials), a high Faraday rotation (ferromagnetic materials) or a high Cotton-Mouton effect.

• The second class comprises reflective materials that exhibit a significant Kerr effect and whose main application may be magneto-optical recording. Several review articles discuss materials for magneto-optics