Optical constants

Refractive index of Kapton

Brannon et al. 1985: k 0.19–0.39 µm

Data
tabulated k
Range
0.19–0.39 µm
Points
21
Licence
CC0-1.0

Plot

Click the plot to set the calculator wavelength. Note: the source gives k only; n is not available.

At one wavelength

Range 0.19–0.39 µm
Refractive index n
—
Extinction coefficient k
0.397982
Permittivity ε1
—
Permittivity ε2
—
Absorption coefficient α
183867 cm⁻¹
Penetration depth δ = λ/(2πk)
108.774 nm
Abbe number Vd
—
Chromatic dispersion dn/dλ
— µm⁻¹
Group index ng
—
Group velocity dispersion
— fs²/mm
Dispersion parameter D
— ps/(nm·km)
Photon energy
4.55824 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

This dataset has k only, so it cannot be used as a simulation material by itself. Pick a dataset with n from the list above.

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

Polyimide thin films which are chemically identical to Kapton thin films.

Notes on the source data (kept exactly as published):
  • the source gives k only; n is not available

References

J. H. Brannon, J. R. Lankard, A. I. Baise, F. Burns, J. Kaufman. Excimer laser etching of polyimide. J. Appl. Phys. 58, 2036-2043 (1985)

Cite

J. H. Brannon, J. R. Lankard, A. I. Baise, F. Burns and J. Kaufman. Excimer laser etching of polyimide. Journal of Applied Physics, 58, 2036-2043 (1985), doi:10.1063/1.336012; Data from the refractiveindex.info database (M. N. Polyanskiy, Sci. Data 11, 94 (2024), doi:10.1038/s41597-023-02898-2)

Data

21 rows as published
Kapton, Brannon et al. 1985: k 0.19–0.39 µm: n and k versus wavelength
λ (µm)k
0.190.634052
0.20.613258
0.210.621597
0.220.715315
0.230.699655
0.240.610934
0.250.474069
0.260.376666
0.270.389769
0.280.430836
0.290.422135
0.30.365377
0.310.230776
0.320.165424
0.330.134675
0.340.110226
0.350.0808255
0.360.0758986
0.370.0681804
0.380.054555
0.390.0491683