Optical constants

Refractive index of K (Potassium)

Smith 1969: n,k 0.313–2.24 µm

Data
tabulated nk
Range
0.3125–2.238 µm
Points
22
Licence
CC0-1.0

Plot

Click the plot to set the calculator wavelength.

At one wavelength

Range 0.3125–2.238 µm
Refractive index n
0.0522188
Extinction coefficient k
1.5771
Permittivity ε1
-2.48453
Permittivity ε2
0.164709
Absorption coefficient α
337278 cm⁻¹
Penetration depth δ = λ/(2πk)
59.2982 nm
Abbe number Vd
—
Chromatic dispersion dn/dλ
0.0722319 µm⁻¹
Group index ng
0.00977535
Group velocity dispersion
— fs²/mm
Dispersion parameter D
— ps/(nm·km)
Photon energy
2.11001 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

# K (Potassium): Smith 1969: n,k 0.313–2.24 µm
k = ls.fetch_refractiveindex("main", "K", "Smith", ref="c5c2f188e848453def5970e347399d653df2ffc2")
print(k.range_nm)  # (312.539, 2237.98) nm
eps = k.eps([633])  # 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.

References

N. V. Smith. Optical constants of sodium and potassium from 0.5 to 4.0 eV by split-beam ellipsometry. Phs. Rev. 183, 634-644 (1969)
  • doi:10.1103/physrev.183.634 Optical Constants of Sodium and Potassium from 0.5 to 4.0 eV by Split-Beam Ellipsometry, Physical Review (1969)

Cite

Neville V. Smith. Optical Constants of Sodium and Potassium from 0.5 to 4.0 eV by Split-Beam Ellipsometry. Physical Review, 183, 634-644 (1969), doi:10.1103/physrev.183.634; Data from the refractiveindex.info database (M. N. Polyanskiy, Sci. Data 11, 94 (2024), doi:10.1038/s41597-023-02898-2)

Data

22 rows as published
K (Potassium), Smith 1969: n,k 0.313–2.24 µm: n and k versus wavelength
λ (µm)nk
0.3125390.2867430.090673
0.3340990.0885930.287834
0.3649810.0518870.549265
0.4046480.0406680.799158
0.4200010.0412210.897607
0.4399720.0426181.020694
0.4699930.0425731.139216
0.5050270.0456941.280269
0.5459450.049211.432628
0.5998270.0531021.619512
0.6619550.0500231.839158
0.7500560.0442192.193617
0.8598070.0400762.557656
1.0096430.040013.036709
1.1752060.0444733.575189
1.3447310.0558844.187257
1.5306690.0657724.751245
1.6891580.0785485.302468
1.8395280.0915.791224
1.9805780.1062516.319912
2.1193880.118696.723398
2.2379820.1386617.096424

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
—