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This Perspective surveys the state-of-the-art and future prospects of science and technology employing nanoconfined light (nanophotonics and nanoplasmonics) in combination with magnetism. We denote this field broadly as nanoscale magnetophotonics. We include a general introduction to the field and describe the emerging magneto-optical effects in magnetoplasmonic and magnetophotonic nanostructures supporting localized and propagating plasmons. Special attention is given to magnetoplasmonic crystals with transverse magnetization and the associated nanophotonic non-reciprocal effects and to magneto-optical effects in periodic arrays of nanostructures. We also give an overview of the applications of these systems in biological and chemical sensing, as well as in light polarization and phase control. We further review the area of nonlinear magnetophotonics, the semiconductor spin-plasmonics, and the general principles and applications of opto-magnetism and nano-optical ultrafast control of magnetism and spintronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this ‘focus on’ collection, a snapshot of the new, fast emerging field of magnetoplasmonics is presented. The research in the field deals with the combination of plasmonics and magnetism to elucidate the fundamentals of spin--plasmon interactions and reach new functionalities such as the enhancement of magneto-optical activity in various materials, active control of plasmons with weak magnetic fields, magnetoplasmonics-based bio- and chemical sensing, magnetophotonic and magnetoplasmonic crystals as modulators of light transmission and reflection, and many others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Light polarization rotators and nonreciprocaloptical isolators are essential building blocks in photonics technology.These macroscopic passive devices are commonly based on magneto-opticalFaraday and Kerr polarization rotation. Magnetoplasmonics, the combinationof magnetism and plasmonics, is a promising route to bring these devicesto the nanoscale. We introduce design rules for highly tunable activemagnetoplasmonic elements in which we can tailor the amplitude andsign of the Kerr response over a broad spectral range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Active nanophotonics can be realized by controlling the optical properties of materials with external magnetic fields. Here, we explore the influence of optical anisotropy on the magneto-optical activity in nonmagnetic hyperbolic nanoparticles. We demonstrate that the magneto-optical response is driven by the hyperbolic dispersion via the coupling of metallic-induced electric and dielectric-induced magnetic dipolar optical modes with static magnetic fields. Magnetic circular dichroism experiments confirm the theoretical predictions and reveal tunable magneto-optical activity across the visible and near infrared spectral range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]