Fully relativistic spin-polarized LMTO calculations of the magneto-optical Kerr effect of d and f ferromagnetic materials.: I.: Chromium spinel chalcogenides

CuCr2Se4 is one of the few compounds that exhibits a magneto-optical (MO) Kerr angle of greater than one degree at room temperature. To better understand the origin of this effect, the MO properties of ferromagnetic CuCr2X4 (X=S, Se, Te) spinel chalcogenides are evaluated using fully relativistic local-density electronic structure calculations. Treating the 3d electronic states within the standard hand description, excellent agreement with the measured MO spectra is obtained. The calculations are analyzed to further elucidate aspects of the Ken rotation.