Theoretical investigation of the optical and magneto-optical properties of EuX (X=S, Se, and Te)

The optical and magneto-optical (MO) properties of europium sulphide (EuS) have been studied by employing the full potential linearized augmented plane wave method as implemented in the WIEN2K code, with the Coulomb corrected local spin density approximation (LSDA+U) in the self-interaction correction (SIC). Our calculations give an energy gap of 1.58 eV for ferromagnetic semiconductor EuS in fair agreement with experiment. The calculated Faraday rotation spectrum of EuS is in better agreement with available experimental data, compared to a previous calculation. We have also performed calculations for EuSe and EuTe in the fictitious ferromagnetic phase with a view of exploring the effect of replacing S by Se and Te on the optical and magneto-optical properties.