Abstract

A general formalism for the reflection of a strongly focused beam from magneto-optic multilayer thin films is established by using a Fourier-transform technique. It is most useful when the focused spot size is of the order of the wavelength, in which case the paraxial approximation is not valid. A significant asymmetry in the field distribution is found for the reflected beam at normal incidence. This asymmetry can be explained in terms of contributions from plane-wave components with different incidence angles.

© 1988 Optical Society of America

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