Faraday Rotation of Hg sub (1-x) Mn sub x Te at 1.3 and 1.55microns

The large Faraday rotations of Mn-containing diluted magnetic semiconductors has led to their consideration for use in magnetooptical isolators. With such applications in mind, we have examined the magnetooptical properties of Hg sub (1-x) Mn sub x Te (x = 0.22, 030 and 0.35). The samples are polished plates cut from Bridgman-grown single crystals. The compositions x = 0.30 and 0.35 were chosen to have their band edges at slightly shorter wavelengths than those of interest in optical communications, 1.3 and 1.55micons. Faraday rotation and its temperature dependence as well as absorption coefficient have been measured for these alloys.