MSE 432- Optical properties of materials

Optical Coefficients of Materials

Dr. Amr Hessein
2021-2022
❑Contents
1. Classification of Optical processes
2. Optical Coefficients
3. The complex Refractive Index and Dielectric Constant
4. Optical Materials
5. Solved Examples and Tutorials

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1. Classification of Optical processes

➢ The goal of this lecture is to describe the way in which the optical phenomena
are classified, and the coefficients that are used to quantify them.
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1. Classification of Optical processes

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1. Classification of Optical processes

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1. Classification of Optical processes

Remarks
1. The luminescence is usually down-shifted in frequency relative to the absorption, an
effect now known as the Stokes shift
2. It takes a characteristic amount of time for the excited atoms to re-emit by spontaneous
emission (life-time constant).
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1. Classification of Optical processes

➢ Elastic light scattering such as Rayleigh scattering and Mie scattering.

➢ Inelastic light scattering includes Brillouin scattering, Raman
scattering.
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2. Optical Coefficients
1- The Coefficient of Reflection (Reflectivity).

Reflectivity (R) is defined as the ratio of the reflected power to the power incident on the surface.
2- The coefficient of transmission or (transmissivity).

Transmissivity (T) is defined as the ratio of the transmitted power to the incident power.

If there is no absorption or scattering:

3- The refractive index

The refractive index (n) is defined as the ratio of the velocity of light in free space c to the velocity of
light in the medium v

The refractive index depends on the frequency of the light beam.

This effect is called Dispersion 8
2. Optical Coefficients
4- The absorption coefficient

The absorption coefficient (α) is defined as the fraction of the power absorbed in a unit length of
the medium [α~ m-1 or cm-1]

➢ If the beam is propagating in the z direction, and the intensity (optical power per unit area) at position z is I(z),
then the decrease of the intensity in an incremental slice of thickness dz is given by:

➢ This can be integrated to obtain Beer’s law:

where I0 is the optical intensity at z = 0

➢ The absorption coefficient is a strong function of frequency, so that optical materials may
absorb one colour but not another.
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2. Optical Coefficients
4- The absorption coefficient
➢ It is useful to consider two limiting cases to calculate transmissivity of a parallel-sided plate containing
an optical medium by considering the multiple reflections from the front and back surfaces:
(1) Incoherent light
If the thickness l of the plate is much larger than the coherence length lc of the light

𝒍 ≫ 𝒍𝒄 i.e. the interference effects are negligible,

Where
R1 and R2 → are the reflectivities of the front and back surfaces
α →is absorption coefficient of the medium

➢ If 𝑅1 = 𝑅2 = 𝑅
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2. Optical Coefficients
4- The absorption coefficient

(2) Coherent light

𝒍
𝒍𝒄 > 𝒍 i.e. then interference fringes will occur, 𝑹𝟏 𝑹𝟐

𝑅1 = 𝑅2 = 𝑅

where Φ is the round-trip phase shift.

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2. Optical Coefficients
4- The absorption coefficient

For a strongly absorbing medium (i.e. αl >>1), multiple reflections are negligible

The (1 − R)2 term accounts for the exponential factor gives the
the transmission of the front and decrease in intensity due to the
back surfaces absorption

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2. Optical Coefficients
4- The absorption coefficient

If the medium is transparent, i.e. α = 0,

for incoherent light

while for coherent light, the transmission will oscillate as

the wavelength is changed due to the formation of bright
and dark interference fringes.

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2. Optical Coefficients
5- optical density (O.D.)

This is sometimes called the absorbance (A), and is defined as

Type equation here.

where l→ is the length of the absorbing medium

By substitute from: 𝐼 𝑙 = 𝐼0 𝑒 −𝛼𝑙

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2. Optical Coefficients

Solution
R=0.35, α=3.8x105 m-1, l=10x10-6 ,T=??, O.D. =??

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3. The complex Refractive Index
➢ The complex refractive index (𝑛)
ധ is defined through the equation:

Where
𝑐
n→ is the same as the normal refractive index (𝑛 = 𝑣
)
κ → is called the extinction coefficient (Sometimes called molar extinction
coefficient and written as ε ~ M-1 cm-1)
➢ the extinction coefficient that is directly related to the absorption coefficient α of the
medium:

Where
λo→ is the vacuum wavelength of the light
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3. The complex Refractive Index
➢ If the wave is propagating in the z direction in air towards an optical material, the spatial and
time dependence of the electric field is given by:

in air →
c v
in medium → λo λ

κ leads to an exponential n still determines the

decay of the wave in the phase velocity of the
medium. wave front,

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3. The complex Refractive Index
➢ using the standard result derived from Maxwell’s equations:

c v
λo λ

➢ Thus, if n is complex, then ϵr must also be complex.

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3. The complex Refractive Index
➢ using the standard result derived from Maxwell’s equations:

➢ The reflectivity depends on both n and κ and is given by:

At normal incidence
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3. The complex Refractive Index

➢ In a transparent material such as glass in the visible region of the

spectrum, the absorption coefficient is very small. So that, κ and ϵ2
are negligible, and hence that both n and ϵr may be taken as real
numbers.

➢ This is why tables of the properties of transparent optical materials generally

list only the real parts of the refractive index and dielectric constant.

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3. The complex Refractive Index

Solution
λo=400 nm, v=??, α =??, R=??

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3. The complex Refractive Index

Solution
λo=400 nm, v=??, α =??, R=??

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3. The complex Refractive Index

Solution
λo=60 μm, α =??, R=??

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3. The complex Refractive Index

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