Anisotropy of magnetic properties in 2D arrays of permalloy antidots

•The results from the anisotropy of Py antidots are presented.•The hard magnetization axis is oriented along the side of the antidot square lattice.•The value of the saturated LMOKE effect is isotropic.•The maximum of the SHG magnetic contrast was observed along easy axis.

Anisotropy of linear and nonlinear magnetooptical (MO) effects in a regular array of Py antidots is studied by means of the MO Kerr effect at the fundamental and second harmonic wavelengths. We have demonstrated that the value of the MO effect, coercivity, and magnetization distribution depend substantially on the azimuthal orientation of the antidots array relatively to the external magnetic field.