Optical constants

Refractive index of N₂ (Nitrogen)

Peck and Khanna 1966: n 0.47–2.06 µm; 0 °C

Data: formula 6
Range: 0.4679–2.059 µm
Temperature: 273.15 K
Licence: CC0-1.0

Axis Log x Log y

Click the plot to set the calculator wavelength.

At one wavelength

Refractive index n: 1.0003
Extinction coefficient k: 0

Permittivity ε₁: 1.0006
Permittivity ε₂: 0

Absorption coefficient α: 0 cm⁻¹
Penetration depth δ = λ/(2πk): — nm

Abbe number V_d: 95.409
Chromatic dispersion dn/dλ: -1.60574e-05 µm⁻¹

Group index n_g: 1.00031
Group velocity dispersion: 0.0302597 fs²/mm

Dispersion parameter D: -0.165083 ps/(nm·km)
Photon energy: 2.11001 eV

ε = (n + ik)², α = 4πk/λ, n_g = 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

# N2 (Nitrogen): Peck and Khanna 1966: n 0.47–2.06 µm; 0 °C
n2 = ls.fetch_refractiveindex("main", "N2", "Peck-0C", ref="c5c2f188e848453def5970e347399d653df2ffc2")
print(n2.range_nm)  # (467.9, 2058.7) nm
eps = n2.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_4829f802446a/lightsmith"
n2 = ls.Tabulated.model_validate(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(url)))
print(n2.source)  # citation and provenance travel with the data

Any dataset here, as the library's Tabulated material (n2/peck-khanna-1966-0c).

# ... load n2 as above, then:
sim = ls.Simulation(
    particles=[ls.Particle(shape=ls.Sphere(radius_nm=50), material=n2)],
    medium_index=1.0,
    wavelengths=ls.WavelengthRange(start_nm=468, 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"]).

Materials guide Open a sphere of it in Studio Quick start Ask the community

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.

Dispersion formula

Gases (formula 6), λ in µm

n - 1 = 6.8552 \times 10^{-5} + \frac{0.03243157}{144.0 - λ^{−2}}

Valid from 0.4679 to 2.0587 µm.

Coefficients as stored

C_i	Value
C1	6.8552e-05
C2	0.03243157
C3	144.0

Comments and conditions

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

Conditions

temperature: 273.15 K
pressure: 101325

References

E. R. Peck and B. N. Khanna. Dispersion of nitrogen. J. Opt. Soc. Am. 56, 1059-1063 (1966)

doi:10.1364/josa.56.001059 Dispersion of Nitrogen*, Journal of the Optical Society of America (1966)

Cite

Edson R. Peck and Baij Nath Khanna. Dispersion of Nitrogen*. Journal of the Optical Society of America, 56, 1059 (1966), doi:10.1364/josa.56.001059; Data from the refractiveindex.info database (M. N. Polyanskiy, Sci. Data 11, 94 (2024), doi:10.1038/s41597-023-02898-2)

Data

Computed on 400 wavelengths, the same grid as the API and the library

CSV comma separated TXT tab separated YAML n, k Full database record original YAML All quantities CSV JSON metadata

N2 (Nitrogen), Peck and Khanna 1966: n 0.47–2.06 µm; 0 °C: n and k versus wavelength
λ (µm)	n
0.4679	1.000301
0.469641	1.000301
0.471388	1.000301
0.473141	1.000301
0.474902	1.000301
0.476668	1.000301
0.478441	1.000301
0.480221	1.000301
0.482008	1.000301
0.483801	1.000301
0.485601	1.000301
0.487407	1.000301
0.48922	1.000301
0.49104	1.0003
0.492867	1.0003
0.494701	1.0003
0.496541	1.0003
0.498388	1.0003
0.500242	1.0003
0.502103	1.0003
0.503971	1.0003
0.505846	1.0003
0.507728	1.0003
0.509617	1.0003
0.511512	1.0003
0.513415	1.0003
0.515325	1.0003
0.517242	1.0003
0.519167	1.0003
0.521098	1.0003
0.523036	1.0003
0.524982	1.0003
0.526935	1.0003
0.528896	1.0003
0.530863	1.000299
0.532838	1.000299
0.53482	1.000299
0.53681	1.000299
0.538807	1.000299
0.540811	1.000299
0.542823	1.000299
0.544842	1.000299
0.546869	1.000299
0.548904	1.000299
0.550946	1.000299
0.552995	1.000299
0.555053	1.000299
0.557117	1.000299
0.55919	1.000299
0.56127	1.000299
0.563358	1.000299
0.565454	1.000299
0.567558	1.000299
0.569669	1.000299
0.571788	1.000299
0.573915	1.000299
0.57605	1.000299
0.578193	1.000299
0.580344	1.000299
0.582503	1.000298
0.58467	1.000298
0.586845	1.000298
0.589028	1.000298
0.59122	1.000298
0.593419	1.000298
0.595627	1.000298
0.597842	1.000298
0.600066	1.000298
0.602299	1.000298
0.604539	1.000298
0.606788	1.000298
0.609046	1.000298
0.611311	1.000298
0.613586	1.000298
0.615868	1.000298
0.618159	1.000298
0.620459	1.000298
0.622767	1.000298
0.625084	1.000298
0.627409	1.000298
0.629743	1.000298
0.632086	1.000298
0.634437	1.000298
0.636798	1.000298
0.639167	1.000298
0.641544	1.000298
0.643931	1.000298
0.646327	1.000298
0.648731	1.000298
0.651144	1.000298
0.653567	1.000297
0.655998	1.000297
0.658438	1.000297
0.660888	1.000297
0.663346	1.000297
0.665814	1.000297
0.668291	1.000297
0.670777	1.000297
0.673273	1.000297
0.675777	1.000297
0.678291	1.000297
0.680815	1.000297
0.683347	1.000297
0.685889	1.000297
0.688441	1.000297
0.691002	1.000297
0.693573	1.000297
0.696153	1.000297
0.698743	1.000297
0.701342	1.000297
0.703951	1.000297
0.70657	1.000297
0.709198	1.000297
0.711837	1.000297
0.714485	1.000297
0.717143	1.000297
0.719811	1.000297
0.722489	1.000297
0.725176	1.000297
0.727874	1.000297
0.730582	1.000297
0.7333	1.000297
0.736028	1.000297
0.738766	1.000297
0.741514	1.000297
0.744273	1.000297
0.747041	1.000297
0.74982	1.000297
0.75261	1.000297
0.75541	1.000297
0.75822	1.000297
0.761041	1.000297
0.763872	1.000296
0.766713	1.000296
0.769566	1.000296
0.772429	1.000296
0.775302	1.000296
0.778186	1.000296
0.781081	1.000296
0.783987	1.000296
0.786903	1.000296
0.789831	1.000296
0.792769	1.000296
0.795718	1.000296
0.798679	1.000296
0.80165	1.000296
0.804632	1.000296
0.807625	1.000296
0.81063	1.000296
0.813645	1.000296
0.816672	1.000296
0.81971	1.000296
0.82276	1.000296
0.825821	1.000296
0.828893	1.000296
0.831976	1.000296
0.835071	1.000296
0.838178	1.000296
0.841296	1.000296
0.844426	1.000296
0.847567	1.000296
0.85072	1.000296
0.853885	1.000296
0.857062	1.000296
0.86025	1.000296
0.86345	1.000296
0.866662	1.000296
0.869886	1.000296
0.873122	1.000296
0.876371	1.000296
0.879631	1.000296
0.882903	1.000296
0.886188	1.000296
0.889484	1.000296
0.892793	1.000296
0.896115	1.000296
0.899448	1.000296
0.902794	1.000296
0.906153	1.000296
0.909524	1.000296
0.912907	1.000296
0.916304	1.000296
0.919712	1.000296
0.923134	1.000296
0.926568	1.000296
0.930015	1.000296
0.933475	1.000296
0.936947	1.000296
0.940433	1.000296
0.943931	1.000296
0.947443	1.000296
0.950968	1.000296
0.954505	1.000296
0.958056	1.000295
0.96162	1.000295
0.965198	1.000295
0.968788	1.000295
0.972392	1.000295
0.97601	1.000295
0.979641	1.000295
0.983285	1.000295
0.986943	1.000295
0.990614	1.000295
0.9943	1.000295
0.997999	1.000295
1.00171	1.000295
1.00544	1.000295
1.00918	1.000295
1.01293	1.000295
1.0167	1.000295
1.02048	1.000295
1.02428	1.000295
1.02809	1.000295
1.03191	1.000295
1.03575	1.000295
1.03961	1.000295
1.04347	1.000295
1.04736	1.000295
1.05125	1.000295
1.05516	1.000295
1.05909	1.000295
1.06303	1.000295
1.06698	1.000295
1.07095	1.000295
1.07494	1.000295
1.07893	1.000295
1.08295	1.000295
1.08698	1.000295
1.09102	1.000295
1.09508	1.000295
1.09915	1.000295
1.10324	1.000295
1.10735	1.000295
1.11147	1.000295
1.1156	1.000295
1.11975	1.000295
1.12392	1.000295
1.1281	1.000295
1.13229	1.000295
1.13651	1.000295
1.14073	1.000295
1.14498	1.000295
1.14924	1.000295
1.15351	1.000295
1.1578	1.000295
1.16211	1.000295
1.16643	1.000295
1.17077	1.000295
1.17513	1.000295
1.1795	1.000295
1.18389	1.000295
1.18829	1.000295
1.19271	1.000295
1.19715	1.000295
1.2016	1.000295
1.20607	1.000295
1.21056	1.000295
1.21506	1.000295
1.21958	1.000295
1.22412	1.000295
1.22868	1.000295
1.23325	1.000295
1.23783	1.000295
1.24244	1.000295
1.24706	1.000295
1.2517	1.000295
1.25636	1.000295
1.26103	1.000295
1.26572	1.000295
1.27043	1.000295
1.27516	1.000295
1.2799	1.000295
1.28466	1.000295
1.28944	1.000295
1.29424	1.000295
1.29905	1.000295
1.30389	1.000295
1.30874	1.000295
1.3136	1.000295
1.31849	1.000295
1.3234	1.000295
1.32832	1.000295
1.33326	1.000295
1.33822	1.000295
1.3432	1.000295
1.3482	1.000295
1.35321	1.000295
1.35825	1.000295
1.3633	1.000295
1.36837	1.000295
1.37346	1.000295
1.37857	1.000295
1.3837	1.000295
1.38885	1.000295
1.39401	1.000295
1.3992	1.000295
1.4044	1.000295
1.40963	1.000295
1.41487	1.000295
1.42014	1.000295
1.42542	1.000295
1.43072	1.000295
1.43604	1.000295
1.44139	1.000295
1.44675	1.000295
1.45213	1.000295
1.45753	1.000295
1.46295	1.000295
1.4684	1.000294
1.47386	1.000294
1.47934	1.000294
1.48485	1.000294
1.49037	1.000294
1.49591	1.000294
1.50148	1.000294
1.50707	1.000294
1.51267	1.000294
1.5183	1.000294
1.52395	1.000294
1.52962	1.000294
1.53531	1.000294
1.54102	1.000294
1.54675	1.000294
1.55251	1.000294
1.55828	1.000294
1.56408	1.000294
1.5699	1.000294
1.57574	1.000294
1.5816	1.000294
1.58748	1.000294
1.59339	1.000294
1.59932	1.000294
1.60527	1.000294
1.61124	1.000294
1.61723	1.000294
1.62325	1.000294
1.62929	1.000294
1.63535	1.000294
1.64143	1.000294
1.64754	1.000294
1.65367	1.000294
1.65982	1.000294
1.66599	1.000294
1.67219	1.000294
1.67841	1.000294
1.68465	1.000294
1.69092	1.000294
1.69721	1.000294
1.70353	1.000294
1.70986	1.000294
1.71622	1.000294
1.72261	1.000294
1.72902	1.000294
1.73545	1.000294
1.74191	1.000294
1.74839	1.000294
1.75489	1.000294
1.76142	1.000294
1.76797	1.000294
1.77455	1.000294
1.78115	1.000294
1.78778	1.000294
1.79443	1.000294
1.8011	1.000294
1.8078	1.000294
1.81453	1.000294
1.82128	1.000294
1.82805	1.000294
1.83485	1.000294
1.84168	1.000294
1.84853	1.000294
1.85541	1.000294
1.86231	1.000294
1.86924	1.000294
1.87619	1.000294
1.88317	1.000294
1.89018	1.000294
1.89721	1.000294
1.90427	1.000294
1.91135	1.000294
1.91846	1.000294
1.9256	1.000294
1.93276	1.000294
1.93995	1.000294
1.94717	1.000294
1.95441	1.000294
1.96168	1.000294
1.96898	1.000294
1.97631	1.000294
1.98366	1.000294
1.99104	1.000294
1.99844	1.000294
2.00588	1.000294
2.01334	1.000294
2.02083	1.000294
2.02835	1.000294
2.03589	1.000294
2.04347	1.000294
2.05107	1.000294
2.0587	1.000294

Optical transmission calculator

Free-standing sample in vacuum, normal incidence

Transmittance T: —
Reflectance R: —

Fresnel reflection calculator

R_p: —
R_s: —
R = (R_p+R_s)/2: —
Phase φ_p: —
Phase φ_s: —
Brewster angle θ_B: —
Critical angle θ_C: —

N₂ (Nitrogen): all datasets

About N2 (Nitrogen)

Nitrogen (N₂) is a diatomic gas that makes up approximately 78% of the Earth's atmosphere by volume. It is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas that is largely inert under standard conditions, resulting in its use as an unreactive blanket in many industrial applications. In the context of optics, nitrogen is commonly used as a purge gas to displace air and prevent condensation or contamination in high-power laser systems, optical instruments, and other sensitive equipment. Liquid nitrogen, which is nitrogen in its cryogenic liquid state, is employed as a coolant for infrared detectors and other electronic components. Its transparency in the visible and infrared regions makes it an ideal medium for certain optical experiments and applications.

More about N2 (Nitrogen) →

Provenance

Version: 1 (snapshot c5c2f18)
Source page: refractiveindex.info
Original file: database/data/main/N2/nk/Peck-0C.yml
ID: ds_4829f802446a
API: /v1/datasets/ds_4829f802446a

Plot