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
- 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.
import json, urllib.request
import lightsmith as ls
url = "https://materials.lightsmith.dev/v1/datasets/ds_86c851b428a4/lightsmith"
k = ls.Tabulated.model_validate(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(url)))
print(k.source) # citation and provenance travel with the data
Any dataset here, as the library's Tabulated material (k/smith-1969).
# ... load k as above, then:
sim = ls.Simulation(
particles=[ls.Particle(shape=ls.Sphere(radius_nm=50), material=k)],
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"]).
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
- 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| λ (µm) | n | k |
|---|---|---|
| 0.312539 | 0.286743 | 0.090673 |
| 0.334099 | 0.088593 | 0.287834 |
| 0.364981 | 0.051887 | 0.549265 |
| 0.404648 | 0.040668 | 0.799158 |
| 0.420001 | 0.041221 | 0.897607 |
| 0.439972 | 0.042618 | 1.020694 |
| 0.469993 | 0.042573 | 1.139216 |
| 0.505027 | 0.045694 | 1.280269 |
| 0.545945 | 0.04921 | 1.432628 |
| 0.599827 | 0.053102 | 1.619512 |
| 0.661955 | 0.050023 | 1.839158 |
| 0.750056 | 0.044219 | 2.193617 |
| 0.859807 | 0.040076 | 2.557656 |
| 1.009643 | 0.04001 | 3.036709 |
| 1.175206 | 0.044473 | 3.575189 |
| 1.344731 | 0.055884 | 4.187257 |
| 1.530669 | 0.065772 | 4.751245 |
| 1.689158 | 0.078548 | 5.302468 |
| 1.839528 | 0.091 | 5.791224 |
| 1.980578 | 0.106251 | 6.319912 |
| 2.119388 | 0.11869 | 6.723398 |
| 2.237982 | 0.138661 | 7.096424 |
Optical transmission calculator
Free-standing sample in vacuum, normal incidence- Transmittance T
- —
- Reflectance R
- —
Fresnel reflection calculator
- Rp
- —
- Rs
- —
- R = (Rp+Rs)/2
- —
- Phase φp
- —
- Phase φs
- —
- Brewster angle θB
- —
- Critical angle θC
- —