Optical constants

Refractive index of Al₂O₃ (Aluminium sesquioxide, Sapphire, Alumina)

Querry 1985: α-Al2O3 (Sapphire); n,k(e) 0.21–55.6 µm

Data: tabulated nk
Range: 0.21–55.56 µm
Points: 612
Optical axis: e
State: crystalline
Licence: CC0-1.0

Uniaxial crystal, axes: oe

Axis Log x Log y

Click the plot to set the calculator wavelength.

At one wavelength

Refractive index n: 1.728
Extinction coefficient k: 0.02

Permittivity ε₁: 2.98558
Permittivity ε₂: 0.06912

Absorption coefficient α: 4277.19 cm⁻¹
Penetration depth δ = λ/(2πk): 4675.97 nm

Abbe number V_d: —
Chromatic dispersion dn/dλ: 0 µm⁻¹

Group index n_g: 1.728
Group velocity dispersion: — fs²/mm

Dispersion parameter D: — ps/(nm·km)
Photon energy: 2.11001 eV

ε = (n + ik)², α = 4πk/λ, n_g = n − λ dn/dλ, GVD = λ³/(2πc²) d²n/dλ², D = −(λ/c) d²n/dλ². Group-velocity dispersion is given for formula data only.

Use it in Lightsmith

Load this data in Python, simulate in one more line

pip install lightsmith

import lightsmith as ls

# Al2O3 (Aluminium sesquioxide, Sapphire, Alumina): Querry 1985: α-Al2O3 (Sapphire); n,k(e) 0.21–55.6 µm
al2o3 = ls.fetch_refractiveindex("main", "Al2O3", "Querry-e", ref="c5c2f188e848453def5970e347399d653df2ffc2")
print(al2o3.range_nm)  # (210, 55555.6) nm
eps = al2o3.eps([633])  # complex permittivity

Downloads the original record once (pinned to the imported snapshot) and caches it.

import json, urllib.request
import lightsmith as ls

url = "https://materials.lightsmith.dev/v1/datasets/ds_2e3806438f2a/lightsmith"
al2o3 = ls.Tabulated.model_validate(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(url)))
print(al2o3.source)  # citation and provenance travel with the data

Any dataset here, as the library's Tabulated material (al2o3/querry-1985-e).

# ... load al2o3 as above, then:
sim = ls.Simulation(
    particles=[ls.Particle(shape=ls.Sphere(radius_nm=50), material=al2o3)],
    medium_index=1.0,
    wavelengths=ls.WavelengthRange(start_nm=400, stop_nm=1000, num=81),
)
res = ls.solve(sim)  # exact Mie for a sphere
print(res.q_ext)     # extinction efficiency at each wavelength

Same spec runs with DDA, FDTD, BEM or T-matrix: ls.compare(sim, ["mie", "dda"]).

Materials guide Open a sphere of it in Studio Quick start Ask the community

Lightsmith is open source (MIT): Mie, T-matrix, BEM, DDA, FDTD, RCWA, TMM, mode solvers and inverse design behind one spec, on CPU or GPU. GitHub.

Comments and conditions

α-Al₂O₃ (Sapphire). Extraordinary ray (e).

Conditions

direction: e

Notes on the source data (kept exactly as published):

k < 0 at some wavelengths in the source data (gain, or a sign convention issue)

References

M. R. Querry. Optical constants, Contractor Report CRDC-CR-85034 (1985)

Cite

M. R. Querry. Optical constants, Contractor Report CRDC-CR-85034 (1985); Data from the refractiveindex.info database (M. N. Polyanskiy, Sci. Data 11, 94 (2024), doi:10.1038/s41597-023-02898-2)

Data

612 rows as published

CSV comma separated TXT tab separated YAML n, k Full database record original YAML All quantities CSV JSON metadata

Al2O3 (Aluminium sesquioxide, Sapphire, Alumina), Querry 1985: α-Al2O3 (Sapphire); n,k(e) 0.21–55.6 µm: n and k versus wavelength
λ (µm)	n	k
0.21	1.804	-0.048
0.22	1.79	-0.035
0.23	1.78	-0.024
0.24	1.768	-0.017
0.25	1.763	-0.014
0.26	1.755	-0.008
0.27	1.751	-0.003
0.28	1.748	0.0
0.29	1.743	0.002
0.3	1.738	0.008
0.31	1.738	0.01
0.32	1.738	0.012
0.33	1.737	0.013
0.34	1.736	0.014
0.35	1.734	0.015
0.36	1.733	0.017
0.37	1.733	0.018
0.38	1.733	0.018
0.39	1.733	0.018
0.4	1.732	0.018
0.41	1.731	0.019
0.42	1.73	0.019
0.43	1.73	0.02
0.44	1.73	0.02
0.45	1.73	0.02
0.46	1.73	0.02
0.47	1.73	0.02
0.48	1.729	0.02
0.49	1.729	0.021
0.5	1.729	0.02
0.51	1.729	0.021
0.52	1.729	0.02
0.53	1.729	0.02
0.54	1.729	0.02
0.55	1.729	0.02
0.56	1.728	0.02
0.57	1.728	0.02
0.58	1.728	0.02
0.59	1.728	0.02
0.6	1.728	0.02
0.61	1.728	0.02
0.62	1.728	0.02
0.63	1.728	0.02
0.64	1.727	0.019
0.65	1.727	0.02
0.66	1.727	0.02
0.67	1.727	0.02
0.68	1.727	0.02
0.69	1.727	0.02
0.7	1.727	0.02
0.71	1.727	0.02
0.72	1.727	0.019
0.73	1.727	0.02
0.74	1.727	0.02
0.75	1.727	0.02
0.76	1.727	0.02
0.77	1.727	0.02
0.78	1.727	0.019
0.79	1.727	0.019
0.8	1.727	0.019
0.81	1.726	0.019
0.82	1.726	0.019
0.83	1.726	0.02
0.84	1.726	0.019
0.85	1.726	0.019
0.86	1.726	0.019
0.87	1.726	0.019
0.88	1.726	0.019
0.89	1.726	0.019
0.9	1.726	0.019
0.91	1.726	0.019
0.92	1.726	0.019
0.93	1.726	0.019
0.94	1.726	0.019
0.95	1.726	0.019
0.96	1.726	0.019
0.97	1.726	0.019
0.98	1.726	0.019
0.99	1.726	0.019
1.0	1.726	0.019
1.01	1.726	0.019
1.02	1.726	0.019
1.03	1.726	0.019
1.04	1.726	0.019
1.05	1.726	0.019
1.06	1.726	0.019
1.07	1.726	0.018
1.08	1.726	0.019
1.09	1.726	0.019
1.1	1.726	0.019
1.11	1.726	0.019
1.12	1.726	0.019
1.13	1.726	0.019
1.14	1.726	0.019
1.15	1.726	0.018
1.16	1.725	0.018
1.17	1.725	0.019
1.18	1.725	0.019
1.19	1.725	0.019
1.2	1.725	0.02
1.21	1.726	0.019
1.22	1.726	0.019
1.23	1.726	0.019
1.24	1.726	0.019
1.25	1.726	0.019
1.26	1.726	0.018
1.27	1.726	0.018
1.28	1.726	0.018
1.29	1.725	0.018
1.3	1.725	0.018
1.31	1.725	0.017
1.32	1.725	0.017
1.33	1.724	0.018
1.34	1.724	0.018
1.35	1.724	0.018
1.36	1.724	0.018
1.37	1.724	0.018
1.38	1.724	0.018
1.39	1.724	0.018
1.4	1.724	0.018
1.41	1.725	0.018
1.42	1.725	0.018
1.43	1.724	0.018
1.44	1.724	0.018
1.45	1.725	0.017
1.46	1.725	0.017
1.47	1.724	0.017
1.48	1.724	0.017
1.49	1.724	0.017
1.5	1.724	0.016
1.51	1.724	0.016
1.52	1.723	0.016
1.53	1.725	0.017
1.54	1.723	0.016
1.55	1.723	0.016
1.56	1.723	0.016
1.57	1.723	0.015
1.58	1.722	0.016
1.59	1.722	0.016
1.6	1.722	0.016
1.61	1.722	0.016
1.62	1.721	0.016
1.63	1.721	0.015
1.64	1.721	0.016
1.65	1.721	0.016
1.66	1.721	0.016
1.67	1.721	0.016
1.68	1.721	0.016
1.69	1.721	0.017
1.7	1.721	0.017
1.71	1.721	0.017
1.72	1.721	0.016
1.73	1.72	0.016
1.74	1.72	0.017
1.75	1.72	0.016
1.76	1.72	0.016
1.77	1.72	0.017
1.78	1.72	0.015
1.79	1.72	0.015
1.8	1.719	0.015
1.81	1.719	0.015
1.82	1.718	0.015
1.83	1.718	0.015
1.84	1.718	0.015
1.85	1.717	0.015
1.86	1.716	0.016
1.87	1.716	0.016
1.88	1.717	0.018
1.89	1.717	0.018
1.9	1.718	0.017
1.91	1.718	0.016
1.92	1.718	0.017
1.93	1.717	0.017
1.94	1.718	0.016
1.95	1.718	0.016
1.96	1.718	0.015
1.97	1.717	0.015
1.98	1.717	0.015
1.99	1.716	0.015
2.0	1.716	0.015
2.01	1.715	0.015
2.02	1.715	0.015
2.03	1.715	0.015
2.04	1.714	0.015
2.05	1.714	0.015
2.06	1.714	0.015
2.07	1.714	0.015
2.08	1.714	0.015
2.09	1.714	0.015
2.1	1.714	0.016
2.11	1.713	0.016
2.12	1.713	0.015
2.13	1.713	0.015
2.14	1.712	0.015
2.15	1.712	0.016
2.16	1.712	0.016
2.17	1.712	0.016
2.18	1.712	0.016
2.19	1.712	0.016
2.2	1.711	0.016
2.21	1.711	0.016
2.22	1.711	0.017
2.23	1.711	0.017
2.24	1.711	0.017
2.25	1.711	0.017
2.26	1.711	0.016
2.27	1.711	0.017
2.28	1.711	0.016
2.29	1.711	0.016
2.3	1.711	0.016
2.31	1.71	0.016
2.32	1.71	0.016
2.33	1.71	0.016
2.34	1.71	0.016
2.35	1.71	0.016
2.36	1.71	0.016
2.37	1.709	0.016
2.38	1.709	0.016
2.39	1.709	0.017
2.4	1.709	0.015
2.41	1.709	0.016
2.42	1.709	0.015
2.43	1.709	0.015
2.44	1.709	0.016
2.45	1.709	0.015
2.46	1.709	0.014
2.47	1.708	0.014
2.48	1.708	0.013
2.49	1.707	0.013
2.5	1.706	0.014
2.5063	1.707	0.013
2.5126	1.706	0.012
2.5189	1.706	0.012
2.5253	1.705	0.012
2.5316	1.705	0.013
2.5381	1.704	0.013
2.5445	1.704	0.012
2.551	1.704	0.012
2.5575	1.703	0.012
2.5641	1.703	0.013
2.5707	1.703	0.013
2.5773	1.702	0.012
2.584	1.702	0.012
2.5907	1.701	0.012
2.5974	1.701	0.012
2.6042	1.7	0.013
2.611	1.7	0.013
2.6178	1.699	0.013
2.6247	1.699	0.013
2.6316	1.699	0.014
2.6385	1.698	0.015
2.6455	1.698	0.015
2.6525	1.698	0.015
2.6596	1.698	0.014
2.6667	1.698	0.015
2.6738	1.698	0.016
2.681	1.698	0.016
2.6882	1.698	0.016
2.6954	1.698	0.015
2.7027	1.698	0.015
2.71	1.697	0.016
2.7174	1.697	0.016
2.7248	1.696	0.016
2.7322	1.696	0.016
2.7397	1.697	0.017
2.7473	1.697	0.017
2.7548	1.697	0.018
2.7624	1.697	0.017
2.7701	1.697	0.016
2.7778	1.697	0.015
2.7855	1.697	0.016
2.7933	1.696	0.016
2.8011	1.696	0.016
2.809	1.695	0.016
2.8169	1.695	0.016
2.8249	1.695	0.016
2.8329	1.695	0.017
2.8409	1.695	0.017
2.849	1.695	0.016
2.8571	1.694	0.016
2.8653	1.694	0.016
2.8736	1.694	0.016
2.8818	1.694	0.017
2.8902	1.693	0.017
2.8986	1.693	0.016
2.907	1.693	0.016
2.9155	1.692	0.016
2.924	1.692	0.017
2.9326	1.692	0.017
2.9412	1.691	0.017
2.9499	1.691	0.016
2.9586	1.691	0.017
2.9674	1.69	0.017
2.9762	1.69	0.018
2.9851	1.69	0.018
2.994	1.69	0.018
3.003	1.69	0.018
3.012	1.69	0.018
3.0211	1.69	0.019
3.0303	1.689	0.018
3.0395	1.689	0.018
3.0488	1.689	0.017
3.0581	1.688	0.018
3.0675	1.688	0.019
3.0769	1.688	0.019
3.0864	1.688	0.018
3.096	1.687	0.017
3.1056	1.687	0.018
3.1153	1.686	0.019
3.125	1.686	0.02
3.1348	1.686	0.019
3.1447	1.687	0.019
3.1546	1.686	0.018
3.1646	1.686	0.019
3.1746	1.685	0.019
3.1847	1.685	0.019
3.1949	1.685	0.019
3.2051	1.684	0.019
3.2154	1.684	0.019
3.2258	1.684	0.02
3.2362	1.684	0.02
3.2468	1.684	0.019
3.2573	1.683	0.019
3.268	1.683	0.019
3.2787	1.683	0.02
3.2895	1.683	0.021
3.3003	1.683	0.02
3.3113	1.683	0.019
3.3223	1.683	0.019
3.3333	1.682	0.019
3.3445	1.682	0.02
3.3557	1.682	0.019
3.367	1.681	0.019
3.3784	1.681	0.018
3.3898	1.681	0.018
3.4014	1.68	0.019
3.413	1.68	0.019
3.4247	1.679	0.018
3.4364	1.678	0.018
3.4483	1.678	0.018
3.4602	1.678	0.019
3.4722	1.678	0.019
3.4843	1.677	0.018
3.4965	1.677	0.017
3.5088	1.676	0.017
3.5211	1.676	0.017
3.5336	1.675	0.018
3.5461	1.675	0.018
3.5587	1.674	0.017
3.5714	1.674	0.017
3.5842	1.673	0.017
3.5971	1.673	0.018
3.6101	1.672	0.018
3.6232	1.671	0.017
3.6364	1.67	0.017
3.6496	1.67	0.017
3.663	1.669	0.017
3.6765	1.669	0.018
3.69	1.668	0.018
3.7037	1.667	0.017
3.7175	1.667	0.017
3.7313	1.666	0.018
3.7453	1.665	0.019
3.7594	1.665	0.019
3.7736	1.665	0.018
3.7879	1.664	0.017
3.8023	1.663	0.018
3.8166	1.662	0.019
3.8314	1.661	0.019
3.8462	1.661	0.019
3.861	1.661	0.019
3.876	1.66	0.019
3.8911	1.66	0.02
3.9063	1.659	0.02
3.9216	1.659	0.019
3.937	1.658	0.018
3.9526	1.657	0.018
3.9683	1.656	0.019
3.9841	1.655	0.02
4.0	1.654	0.02
4.0161	1.653	0.019
4.0323	1.653	0.019
4.0486	1.652	0.02
4.065	1.651	0.021
4.0816	1.651	0.022
4.0984	1.651	0.021
4.1152	1.65	0.02
4.1322	1.649	0.021
4.1494	1.648	0.021
4.1667	1.647	0.023
4.1841	1.647	0.022
4.2017	1.646	0.022
4.2194	1.646	0.022
4.2373	1.646	0.022
4.2553	1.645	0.023
4.2735	1.644	0.023
4.2918	1.643	0.022
4.3103	1.643	0.021
4.329	1.642	0.021
4.3478	1.641	0.022
4.3668	1.64	0.022
4.386	1.638	0.021
4.4053	1.637	0.021
4.4248	1.636	0.021
4.4444	1.635	0.022
4.4643	1.634	0.023
4.4843	1.633	0.023
4.5045	1.632	0.022
4.5249	1.631	0.021
4.5455	1.63	0.023
4.5662	1.629	0.024
4.5872	1.628	0.024
4.6083	1.627	0.023
4.6296	1.626	0.022
4.6512	1.625	0.024
4.6729	1.624	0.025
4.6948	1.623	0.025
4.717	1.622	0.025
4.7393	1.621	0.024
4.7619	1.62	0.024
4.7847	1.619	0.025
4.8077	1.618	0.026
4.8309	1.616	0.025
4.8544	1.615	0.025
4.878	1.614	0.025
4.902	1.613	0.026
4.9261	1.611	0.027
4.9505	1.61	0.027
4.9751	1.609	0.027
5.0	1.608	0.026
5.0251	1.607	0.027
5.0505	1.606	0.028
5.0761	1.604	0.028
5.102	1.603	0.027
5.1232	1.602	0.027
5.1546	1.601	0.027
5.1817	1.599	0.028
5.2083	1.598	0.029
5.2356	1.597	0.028
5.2632	1.596	0.027
5.291	1.594	0.026
5.3191	1.593	0.027
5.3476	1.591	0.027
5.3763	1.589	0.027
5.4054	1.587	0.026
5.4349	1.585	0.025
5.4645	1.583	0.026
5.4945	1.581	0.027
5.5249	1.579	0.027
5.5556	1.577	0.026
5.5866	1.575	0.025
5.618	1.573	0.026
5.6497	1.57	0.027
5.6818	1.568	0.028
5.7143	1.566	0.027
5.7471	1.563	0.026
5.7803	1.561	0.026
5.814	1.558	0.027
5.848	1.556	0.028
5.8824	1.554	0.028
5.9172	1.551	0.028
5.9524	1.549	0.027
5.988	1.546	0.028
6.0241	1.543	0.029
6.0606	1.54	0.029
6.0976	1.538	0.029
6.135	1.535	0.028
6.1728	1.532	0.029
6.2112	1.529	0.03
6.25	1.526	0.031
6.2893	1.523	0.03
6.3291	1.52	0.029
6.3694	1.517	0.029
6.4103	1.513	0.03
6.4516	1.51	0.031
6.4935	1.507	0.031
6.5359	1.503	0.03
6.5789	1.5	0.029
6.6225	1.496	0.03
6.6667	1.492	0.031
6.7114	1.487	0.032
6.7568	1.483	0.031
6.8027	1.479	0.032
6.8493	1.474	0.031
6.8966	1.47	0.033
6.9414	1.465	0.034
6.971	1.461	0.033
7.0423	1.456	0.032
7.0722	1.451	0.032
7.1429	1.446	0.033
7.1942	1.441	0.034
7.2464	1.435	0.034
7.2993	1.43	0.034
7.3529	1.424	0.033
7.4074	1.418	0.034
7.4627	1.412	0.035
7.5188	1.405	0.036
7.5758	1.399	0.035
7.6336	1.392	0.035
7.6923	1.385	0.035
7.7519	1.378	0.036
7.8125	1.37	0.035
7.874	1.36	0.034
7.9365	1.351	0.035
8.0	1.342	0.037
8.0645	1.334	0.038
8.1301	1.323	0.038
8.1967	1.312	0.042
8.2645	1.305	0.044
8.3333	1.297	0.043
8.4034	1.287	0.04
8.4746	1.269	0.042
8.547	1.256	0.049
8.6207	1.249	0.053
8.6957	1.243	0.052
8.7719	1.229	0.049
8.8496	1.213	0.05
8.9286	1.197	0.052
9.009	1.185	0.053
9.0909	1.168	0.057
9.1743	1.151	0.058
9.2593	1.135	0.055
9.3458	1.113	0.061
9.434	1.093	0.064
9.5238	1.075	0.072
9.6154	1.064	0.076
9.7087	1.039	0.07
9.8039	1.014	0.076
9.901	0.988	0.074
10.0	0.963	0.082
10.101	0.938	0.08
10.2041	0.905	0.082
10.3093	0.87	0.083
10.4167	0.828	0.086
10.5263	0.786	0.092
10.6383	0.74	0.1
10.7527	0.692	0.108
10.8696	0.631	0.109
10.989	0.554	0.123
11.1111	0.475	0.145
11.236	0.37	0.185
11.3636	0.261	0.264
11.4943	0.174	0.377
11.6279	0.124	0.501
11.7647	0.103	0.619
11.9048	0.095	0.731
12.0482	0.096	0.837
12.1951	0.104	0.928
12.3457	0.112	1.005
12.5	0.115	1.076
12.6582	0.114	1.16
12.8205	0.116	1.252
12.987	0.123	1.338
13.1579	0.125	1.411
13.3333	0.123	1.486
13.5135	0.122	1.582
13.6986	0.129	1.692
13.8889	0.136	1.809
14.0845	0.141	1.902
14.2857	0.144	2.0
14.4928	0.15	2.121
14.7059	0.168	2.29
14.9254	0.204	2.482
15.1515	0.249	2.641
15.3846	0.284	2.776
15.625	0.301	2.928
15.873	0.341	3.262
16.129	0.451	3.751
16.3934	0.732	4.334
16.6667	1.088	4.895
16.9492	2.037	5.762
17.2414	5.146	5.648
17.5439	6.173	1.715
17.8571	4.361	0.222
18.1818	3.346	0.293
18.5185	2.606	0.379
18.8679	1.982	0.406
19.2308	1.298	0.308
19.6078	0.306	0.634
20.0	0.126	1.525
20.4082	0.135	2.215
20.8333	0.147	2.81
21.2766	0.137	3.165
21.7391	0.161	3.573
22.2222	0.222	4.127
22.7273	0.353	5.011
23.2558	0.644	6.176
23.8095	1.109	7.392
24.3902	2.014	9.319
25.0	6.251	11.81
25.641	13.617	5.703
26.3158	10.005	0.246
27.027	7.689	-0.115
27.7778	6.604	0.035
28.5714	5.96	0.146
29.4118	5.538	0.094
30.303	5.213	0.007
31.25	4.947	-0.055
32.2581	4.717	0.003
33.3333	4.536	0.058
34.4828	4.389	0.088
35.7143	4.297	0.077
37.037	4.226	0.048
38.4615	4.136	0.039
40.0	4.055	0.053
41.6667	3.984	0.065
43.4783	3.921	0.042
45.4545	3.865	0.022
47.619	3.814	0.016
50.0	3.768	0.028
52.6316	3.727	0.037
55.5556	3.689	0.03

Optical transmission calculator

Free-standing sample in vacuum, normal incidence

Transmittance T: —
Reflectance R: —

Fresnel reflection calculator

R_p: —
R_s: —
R = (R_p+R_s)/2: —
Phase φ_p: —
Phase φ_s: —
Brewster angle θ_B: —
Critical angle θ_C: —

Al₂O₃ (Aluminium sesquioxide, Sapphire, Alumina): all datasets

Crystal

Thin film

About Al2O3 (Aluminium sesquioxide, Sapphire, Alumina)

Al₂O₃, commonly known as alumina or aluminum oxide, is a ceramic material that has a wide range of applications due to its excellent mechanical and optical properties. This compound crystallizes in various phases, the most stable and common of which is the corundum structure. Alumina is transparent in the ultraviolet to the infrared range, making it a versatile material for a variety of optical applications such as protective windows and lenses. It has a high refractive index and is also known for its strong dielectric properties. One of the key attributes of Al₂O₃ is its remarkable thermal stability and resistance to chemical attack, which makes it suitable for harsh environment applications. Furthermore, the material has been investigated for its nonlinear optical characteristics, although it is generally less efficient in this regard compared to other nonlinear optical materials. Alumina can also serve as a substrate material for thin-film optical coatings. In summary, Al₂O₃ is a robust and multifunctional material that is extensively studied for its enduring relevance in both traditional and advanced optical systems. Mineral: Corundum Gemstones: Sapphire, Ruby

More about Al2O3 (Aluminium sesquioxide, Sapphire, Alumina) →

Provenance

Version: 1 (snapshot c5c2f18)
Source page: refractiveindex.info
Original file: database/data/main/Al2O3/nk/Querry-e.yml
ID: ds_2e3806438f2a
API: /v1/datasets/ds_2e3806438f2a

Plot