Goos–Hänchen shifts of a light beam reflected from the interface of colloidal ferrofluids

Controllable Goos–Hänchen shift of a light beam reflected from the colloidal ferrofluids is investigated by using the stationary-phase method. It is found that the Goos–Hänchen shift can be easily controlled by the local He factor and the volume factor. Using this scheme, the peak value, the peak position and the width of the Goos–Hänchen shift can all be controlled by adjusting the external magnetic field for a fixed configuration, which also provides a possibility for obtaining larger negative Goos–Hänchen shift by changing the external controlling field. Our results have potential applications in optical devices.