Optical constants

Refractive index of Kapton

Kumar et al. 2011: n 0.41–0.65 µm, k 0.49–0.78 µm

Data
tabulated n + tabulated k
Range
0.41–0.65 µm
Points
25
Licence
CC0-1.0

Plot

Click the plot to set the calculator wavelength. Note: k data cover 490-780 nm only; k = 0 elsewhere in the n range 410-650 nm.

At one wavelength

Range 0.41–0.65 µm
Refractive index n
1.75079
Extinction coefficient k
0.00056627
Permittivity ε1
3.06527
Permittivity ε2
0.00198284
Absorption coefficient α
121.102 cm⁻¹
Penetration depth δ = λ/(2πk)
165150 nm
Abbe number Vd
—
Chromatic dispersion dn/dλ
-0.238 µm⁻¹
Group index ng
1.89064
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

# Kapton: Kumar et al. 2011: n 0.41–0.65 µm, k 0.49–0.78 µm
kapton = ls.fetch_refractiveindex("other", "Kapton", "Kumar", ref="c5c2f188e848453def5970e347399d653df2ffc2")
print(kapton.range_nm)  # (410, 650) nm
eps = kapton.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.

Comments and conditions

Kapton-H polyimide

Notes on the source data (kept exactly as published):
  • k data cover 490-780 nm only; k = 0 elsewhere in the n range 410-650 nm

References

V. Kumar, P. Goyal, R. Gupta, S. Kumar. Tailoring of optical band gap and refractive index of heat treated Kapton-H Polyimide. Adv. Appl. Sci. Res. 2 79-85 <2011)

Cite

V. Kumar, P. Goyal, R. Gupta, S. Kumar. Tailoring of optical band gap and refractive index of heat treated Kapton-H Polyimide. Adv. Appl. Sci. Res. 2 79-85; Data from the refractiveindex.info database (M. N. Polyanskiy, Sci. Data 11, 94 (2024), doi:10.1038/s41597-023-02898-2)

Data

Computed on 25 wavelengths, the same grid as the API and the library
Kapton, Kumar et al. 2011: n 0.41–0.65 µm, k 0.49–0.78 µm: n and k versus wavelength
λ (µm)nk
0.411.827860
0.421.816750
0.431.810850
0.441.800840
0.451.794540
0.461.787730
0.471.783750
0.481.77650
0.491.774180.00292399
0.51.772090.00265162
0.511.765990.0021805
0.521.762490.00174471
0.531.759920.00140779
0.541.757490.00112433
0.551.757430.000934269
0.561.755580.000797926
0.571.752730.000693806
0.581.75260.000611706
0.591.750220.000551922
0.61.747680.000494128
0.611.746470.000446497
0.621.745120.000407049
0.631.745220.000366553
0.641.742660.000337733
0.651.740320.000304449

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
—