Giant enhancement of the transverse magneto-optical Kerr effect through the coupling of -near-zero and surface plasmon polariton modes

We demonstrate a concept for the giant enhancement of the transverse magneto-optical Kerr effect (TMOKE), with amplitudes reaching the maximum theoretical values of The concept exploits the strong electromagnetic field localization in near-zero metamaterials to excite surface plasmon resonances with no need of a prism or grating coupler, thus opening routes for magneto-optical devices amenable to miniaturization. A demonstration of the capability of the enhancement mechanism is presented in which giant TMOKE values can be used for sensing and biosensing.We acknowledge the financial support from the Colombian agency COLCIENCIAS and the Brazilian agencies CNPq and FAPESP (Grants No. 2013/14262-7 and No. 2016/12311-9). P.A. acknowledges Programa “Viera y Clavijo” de la Agencia Canaria de Investigación, Innovación y Sociedad de la Información (ACIISI) y la Universidad de las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC)