Faraday effect in yttrium and dysprosium orthoferrites

The Faraday effect in YFeO
3
and DyFeO
3
was investigated in the wavelength region from 0.6 to 1.8 μ. A gas laser operating at 0.63, 1.15, and 3.39 μ was used. The Faraday rotation in yttrium and dysprosium orthoferrites at the wavelength 0.63 μ is equal to - 3000°/cm and - 4000°/cm, respectively. These values accord with figures calculated from the measurements when light is propagated along the
c
axis. The sign of the rotation is opposite to that in YIG. Optical axes lie in the
a
plane. The angle between the optical axis of YFeO
3
and the
c
axis equals 52° and 46° at the wavelengths 0.63 and 3.39 μ, respectively. The absorption coefficient of the samples used was 200 cm
^-1
at
\lambda = 0.63 \mu
.