Optical constants

Refractive index of H2 (Hydrogen)

Smith et al. 1976: n 0.168–0.289 µm

Data
tabulated n
Range
0.168–0.2894 µm
Points
35
Temperature
273.15 K
Licence
CC0-1.0

Plot

Click the plot to set the calculator wavelength.

At one wavelength

Range 0.168–0.2894 µm
Refractive index n
1.00016
Extinction coefficient k
0
Permittivity ε1
1.00032
Permittivity ε2
0
Absorption coefficient α
0 cm⁻¹
Penetration depth δ = λ/(2πk)
— nm
Abbe number Vd
—
Chromatic dispersion dn/dλ
-0.000321046 µm⁻¹
Group index ng
1.00023
Group velocity dispersion
— fs²/mm
Dispersion parameter D
— ps/(nm·km)
Photon energy
5.63565 eV

ε = (n + ik)², α = 4πk/λ, ng = 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

# H2 (Hydrogen): Smith et al. 1976: n 0.168–0.289 µm
h2 = ls.fetch_refractiveindex("main", "H2", "Smith", ref="c5c2f188e848453def5970e347399d653df2ffc2")
print(h2.range_nm)  # (167.97, 289.45) nm
eps = h2.eps([220])  # complex permittivity

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

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

Standard conditions: 0 °C (273.15 K), 760 torr (101.325 kPa).

Conditions

temperature
273.15 K
pressure
101325

References

P. L. Smith, M. C. E. Huber, W. H. Parkinson. Refractivities of H2, He, O2, CO, and Kr for 168≤λ≤288 nm. Phys Rev. A 13, 199-203 (1976)
  • doi:10.1103/physreva.13.1422 Refractivities of<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mrow><mml:msub><mml:mrow><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">H</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:msub></mml:mrow></mml:math>, He,<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mrow><mml:msub><mml:mrow><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">O</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:msub></mml:mrow></mml:math>, CO, and Kr for<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mn>168</mml:mn><mml:mi>≤</mml:mi><mml:mi>λ</mml:mi><mml:mi>≤</mml:mi><mml:mn>288</mml:mn></mml:math>nm, Physical Review A (1976)

Cite

Peter L. Smith, Martin C. E. Huber and W. H. Parkinson. Refractivities of<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mrow><mml:msub><mml:mrow><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">H</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:msub></mml:mrow></mml:math>, He,<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mrow><mml:msub><mml:mrow><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">O</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:msub></mml:mrow></mml:math>, CO, and Kr for<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mn>168</mml:mn><mml:mi>≤</mml:mi><mml:mi>λ</mml:mi><mml:mi>≤</mml:mi><mml:mn>288</mml:mn></mml:math>nm. Physical Review A, 13, 1422-1434 (1976), doi:10.1103/physreva.13.1422; Data from the refractiveindex.info database (M. N. Polyanskiy, Sci. Data 11, 94 (2024), doi:10.1038/s41597-023-02898-2)

Data

35 rows as published
H2 (Hydrogen), Smith et al. 1976: n 0.168–0.289 µm: n and k versus wavelength
λ (µm)n
0.167971.0001891
0.168461.0001887
0.169791.0001875
0.169911.0001874
0.170451.0001869
0.171341.0001862
0.172231.0001854
0.177091.0001817
0.181691.0001786
0.184751.0001767
0.185071.0001765
0.185461.0001763
0.186271.0001758
0.190131.0001737
0.193581.0001719
0.197761.00017
0.198321.0001697
0.19891.0001695
0.199051.0001694
0.205881.0001666
0.212481.0001643
0.220891.0001616
0.221161.0001615
0.221741.0001614
0.230291.0001591
0.237911.0001573
0.243591.0001561
0.250771.0001547
0.251691.0001546
0.252931.0001543
0.253561.0001542
0.263211.0001527
0.275361.0001509
0.288241.0001494
0.289451.0001493

Optical transmission calculator

Free-standing sample in vacuum, normal incidence
Method
Transmittance T
—
Reflectance R
—

Fresnel reflection calculator

Direction
Rp
—
Rs
—
R = (Rp+Rs)/2
—
Phase φp
—
Phase φs
—
Brewster angle θB
—
Critical angle θC
—