Optical constants

Refractive index of Ca (Calcium)

Mathewson and Myers 1971: n,k 0.340–1.65 µm

Data: tabulated nk
Range: 0.3397–1.653 µm
Points: 59
Temperature: 298 K
Licence: CC0-1.0

Axis Log x Log y

Click the plot to set the calculator wavelength.

At one wavelength

Refractive index n: 0.28799
Extinction coefficient k: 2.56912

Permittivity ε₁: -6.51742
Permittivity ε₂: 1.47976

Absorption coefficient α: 549429 cm⁻¹
Penetration depth δ = λ/(2πk): 36.4014 nm

Abbe number V_d: —
Chromatic dispersion dn/dλ: 0.0677349 µm⁻¹

Group index n_g: 0.248189
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

# Ca (Calcium): Mathewson and Myers 1971: n,k 0.340–1.65 µm
ca = ls.fetch_refractiveindex("main", "Ca", "Mathewson", ref="c5c2f188e848453def5970e347399d653df2ffc2")
print(ca.range_nm)  # (339.68, 1653.12) nm
eps = ca.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_2c5ab149d4b8/lightsmith"
ca = ls.Tabulated.model_validate(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(url)))
print(ca.source)  # citation and provenance travel with the data

Any dataset here, as the library's Tabulated material (ca/mathewson-myers-1971).

# ... load ca as above, then:
sim = ls.Simulation(
    particles=[ls.Particle(shape=ls.Sphere(radius_nm=50), material=ca)],
    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

298 K (24.85 °C)

Conditions

temperature: 298 K

References

A. G. Mathewson and H. P. Myers. Absolute values of the optical constants of some pure metals. Phys. Scr. 4, 291-292 (1971)

doi:10.1088/0031-8949/4/6/009 Absolute Values of the Optical Constants of Some Pure Metals, Physica Scripta (1971)

Cite

A G Mathewson and H P Myers. Absolute Values of the Optical Constants of Some Pure Metals. Physica Scripta, 4, 291-292 (1971), doi:10.1088/0031-8949/4/6/009; Data from the refractiveindex.info database (M. N. Polyanskiy, Sci. Data 11, 94 (2024), doi:10.1038/s41597-023-02898-2)

Data

59 rows as published

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

Ca (Calcium), Mathewson and Myers 1971: n,k 0.340–1.65 µm: n and k versus wavelength
λ (µm)	n	k
0.33968	0.42862	1.15487
0.3444	0.42547	1.17517
0.34925	0.42252	1.19521
0.35424	0.41608	1.21372
0.35937	0.41353	1.23329
0.36466	0.40753	1.25143
0.3701	0.3962	1.28723
0.37571	0.38566	1.3224
0.38149	0.38067	1.33974
0.38745	0.37585	1.35693
0.3936	0.35811	1.42416
0.39995	0.34681	1.45612
0.40651	0.33931	1.48833
0.41328	0.33224	1.51999
0.42029	0.31927	1.58175
0.42753	0.3133	1.61188
0.43503	0.30226	1.67074
0.4428	0.29715	1.6995
0.45085	0.2904	1.75623
0.4592	0.28432	1.81131
0.46786	0.28815	1.8393
0.47686	0.28407	1.91851
0.48621	0.28178	1.96962
0.49594	0.28463	2.02015
0.50606	0.28428	2.09304
0.5166	0.285	2.14038
0.52759	0.28515	2.20937
0.53906	0.28555	2.2763
0.55104	0.28571	2.36255
0.56356	0.28656	2.42531
0.57667	0.28725	2.50649
0.5904	0.28818	2.58516
0.6048	0.29116	2.66172
0.61992	0.29408	2.75436
0.63582	0.29712	2.84399
0.65255	0.30194	2.93107
0.67018	0.30671	3.03217
0.6888	0.31309	3.11416
0.70848	0.31936	3.22521
0.72932	0.32709	3.34768
0.75142	0.3347	3.46584
0.7749	0.34499	3.5943
0.7999	0.35772	3.73202
0.82656	0.37139	3.89075
0.85506	0.38949	4.04372
0.8856	0.40449	4.20281
0.9184	0.42018	4.3791
0.95372	0.4354	4.57051
0.99187	0.45534	4.75472
1.0332	0.47649	4.94237
1.07812	0.49972	5.14293
1.12713	0.53677	5.36546
1.1808	0.5717	5.61488
1.23984	0.60214	5.87899
1.3051	0.63184	6.17246
1.3776	0.66011	6.4989
1.45864	0.72263	6.84998
1.5498	0.80774	7.24241
1.65312	0.88689	7.66724

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: —

Ca (Calcium): all datasets

About Ca (Calcium)

Calcium (Ca) is an alkaline earth metal that is essential in various biological processes but also has various industrial applications. In its pure elemental form, it is a soft, silvery metal that reacts vigorously with water and oxidizes rapidly in air. While elemental calcium is not commonly used in optical applications, its compounds like calcium fluoride (CaF₂) and calcium oxide (CaO) are of great interest in optics and photonics. Calcium fluoride is notable for its low refractive index variation with wavelength, making it a choice material for the production of optical components like lenses and windows, especially in the ultraviolet region. Calcium oxide, also known as lime, is used in the production of other materials like various types of glass and ceramics. The ability to dope calcium-containing materials with rare-earth or transition-metal ions makes them useful in laser applications as well. Overall, calcium and its compounds offer a range of desirable properties for optical, structural, and biological applications.

More about Ca (Calcium) →

Provenance

Version: 1 (snapshot c5c2f18)
Source page: refractiveindex.info
Original file: database/data/main/Ca/nk/Mathewson.yml
ID: ds_2c5ab149d4b8
API: /v1/datasets/ds_2c5ab149d4b8

Plot