Patent ID: 7254286

Claim:
A waveguide magneto-optical sensor element comprising: a substrate; at least one layer of magneto-optically (MO) active material disposed thereon having predetermined magnetic and magneto-optical properties; at least one waveguide structure supporting at least one TM-polarized waveguide mode that is at least partially localized within said at least one MO-active layer; at least one waveguide resonator structure for a waveguide mode formed upon at least one magneto-optically active layer such that said waveguide mode is at least partially localized in at least one MO-active layer; said waveguide resonator exhibiting a characteristic resonant spectral feature in the transmitted and reflected waves, said waveguide resonator converting the value of the magnetization of said MO-active layer into a spectral shift of the characteristic spectral feature of said resonator; and a light coupler that couples light into and out of said waveguide magneto-optical sensor element.