Optical constants

Refractive index of GaAs (Gallium arsenide)

Aspnes et al. 1986: n,k 0.207–0.827 µm

Data: tabulated nk
Range: 0.2066–0.8266 µm
Points: 46
Licence: CC0-1.0

Axis Log x Log y

Click the plot to set the calculator wavelength.

At one wavelength

Refractive index n: 3.94763
Extinction coefficient k: 0.243761

Permittivity ε₁: 15.5243
Permittivity ε₂: 1.92456

Absorption coefficient α: 52130.6 cm⁻¹
Penetration depth δ = λ/(2πk): 383.652 nm

Abbe number V_d: —
Chromatic dispersion dn/dλ: -2.72388 µm⁻¹

Group index n_g: 5.54818
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

# GaAs (Gallium arsenide): Aspnes et al. 1986: n,k 0.207–0.827 µm
gaas = ls.fetch_refractiveindex("main", "GaAs", "Aspnes", ref="c5c2f188e848453def5970e347399d653df2ffc2")
print(gaas.range_nm)  # (206.6, 826.6) nm
eps = gaas.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_bef64bb60754/lightsmith"
gaas = ls.Tabulated.model_validate(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(url)))
print(gaas.source)  # citation and provenance travel with the data

Any dataset here, as the library's Tabulated material (gaas/aspnes-1986).

# ... load gaas as above, then:
sim = ls.Simulation(
    particles=[ls.Particle(shape=ls.Sphere(radius_nm=50), material=gaas)],
    medium_index=1.0,
    wavelengths=ls.WavelengthRange(start_nm=400, stop_nm=826, 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

Crysal orientation: <100>; Doping: 1.7×10¹⁷ cm^-3, n; Room temperature

References

D. E. Aspnes, S. M. Kelso, R. A. Logan, R. Bhat. Optical properties of Al_xGa_1−xAs. J. Appl. Phys. 60, 754-767 (1986)

doi:10.1063/1.337426 Optical properties of Al x Ga1− x As, Journal of Applied Physics (1986)

Cite

D. E. Aspnes, S. M. Kelso, R. A. Logan and R. Bhat. Optical properties of Al x Ga1− x As. Journal of Applied Physics, 60, 754-767 (1986), doi:10.1063/1.337426; Data from the refractiveindex.info database (M. N. Polyanskiy, Sci. Data 11, 94 (2024), doi:10.1038/s41597-023-02898-2)

Data

46 rows as published

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

GaAs (Gallium arsenide), Aspnes et al. 1986: n,k 0.207–0.827 µm: n and k versus wavelength
λ (µm)	n	k
0.2066	1.264	2.472
0.2101	1.288	2.557
0.2138	1.311	2.625
0.2175	1.325	2.71
0.2214	1.349	2.815
0.2254	1.383	2.936
0.2296	1.43	3.079
0.2339	1.499	3.255
0.2384	1.599	3.484
0.2431	1.802	3.795
0.248	2.273	4.084
0.253	2.89	4.047
0.2583	3.342	3.77
0.2638	3.598	3.452
0.2695	3.769	3.169
0.2755	3.913	2.919
0.2818	4.015	2.563
0.2883	3.939	2.26
0.2952	3.81	2.069
0.3024	3.692	1.969
0.31	3.601	1.92
0.3179	3.538	1.904
0.3263	3.501	1.909
0.3351	3.485	1.931
0.3444	3.495	1.965
0.3542	3.531	2.013
0.3647	3.596	2.076
0.3757	3.709	2.162
0.3875	3.938	2.288
0.3999	4.373	2.146
0.4133	4.509	1.948
0.4275	5.052	1.721
0.4428	4.959	0.991
0.4592	4.694	0.696
0.4769	4.492	0.539
0.4959	4.333	0.441
0.5166	4.205	0.371
0.5391	4.1	0.32
0.5636	4.013	0.276
0.5904	3.94	0.24
0.6199	3.878	0.211
0.6525	3.826	0.179
0.6888	3.785	0.151
0.7293	3.742	0.112
0.7749	3.7	0.091
0.8266	3.666	0.08

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: —

GaAs (Gallium arsenide): all datasets

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About GaAs (Gallium arsenide)

Gallium arsenide (GaAs) is a compound semiconductor material that holds a prominent position in the world of optoelectronics and high-frequency electronics. With a direct bandgap of approximately 1.43 eV, GaAs is highly efficient for radiation recombination, making it ideal for a range of applications such as solar cells, lasers, and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). It offers superior electron mobility compared to silicon, which allows for faster electronic devices and is widely used in applications requiring high-frequency operation like in microwave and millimeter-wave technologies. GaAs is commonly grown using methods such as molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) or metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). While it's more costly to produce than silicon, the material's superior electronic and optoelectronic properties often justify the additional expense in specialized applications.

More about GaAs (Gallium arsenide) →

Provenance

Version: 1 (snapshot c5c2f18)
Source page: refractiveindex.info
Original file: database/data/main/GaAs/nk/Aspnes.yml
ID: ds_bef64bb60754
API: /v1/datasets/ds_bef64bb60754

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