Sagnac interferometer for time-resolved magneto-optical measurements

We introduce a time-resolved magneto-optical measurement technique based on a zero-area Sagnac interferometer. By replacing a continuous wave light source to a pulsed one, temporal resolution of hundreds of picoseconds is achieved. Because two lights passing through a Sagnac loop always travel the same optical path length, the interference from the phase modulation and Kerr rotation occurs in a pulse mode. For illustration of the apparatus, we present ferromagnetic resonance of a Permalloy film caused by a magnetic field pump. The instrument still possesses the favorable properties of a Sagnac interferometer, such as rejection of all the reciprocal effects, and shows 1 mu rad/root Hz sensitivity at a 3 mu W optical power in the pulse mode.