Optical constants
Refractive index of C3H6(OH)2 (Propylene glycol)
Otanicar et al. 2009: n 0.434–0.656 µm, k 0.2–1.5 µm
- Data
- tabulated n + tabulated k
- Range
- 0.434–0.656 µm
- Points
- 4
- Temperature
- 298 K
- Licence
- CC0-1.0
Plot
Click the plot to set the calculator wavelength.
At one wavelength
- Refractive index n
- 1.4399
- Extinction coefficient k
- 6.45320e-08
- Permittivity ε1
- 2.07332
- Permittivity ε2
- 1.85839e-07
- Absorption coefficient α
- 0.0138008 cm⁻¹
- Penetration depth δ = λ/(2πk)
- 1.44919e+09 nm
- Abbe number Vd
- —
- Chromatic dispersion dn/dλ
- -0.0508738 µm⁻¹
- Group index ng
- 1.46979
- 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
# C3H6(OH)2 (Propylene glycol): Otanicar et al. 2009: n 0.434–0.656 µm, k 0.2–1.5 µm
c3h6 = ls.fetch_refractiveindex("organic", "propylene_glycol", "Otanicar", ref="c5c2f188e848453def5970e347399d653df2ffc2")
print(c3h6.range_nm) # (434, 656) nm
eps = c3h6.eps([633]) # complex permittivityDownloads 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_a3ed11d2002c/lightsmith"
c3h6 = ls.Tabulated.model_validate(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(url)))
print(c3h6.source) # citation and provenance travel with the dataAny dataset here, as the library's Tabulated material (propylene-glycol/otanicar-2009).
# ... load c3h6 as above, then:
sim = ls.Simulation(
particles=[ls.Particle(shape=ls.Sphere(radius_nm=50), material=c3h6)],
medium_index=1.0,
wavelengths=ls.WavelengthRange(start_nm=434, stop_nm=656, num=81),
)
res = ls.solve(sim) # exact Mie for a sphere
print(res.q_ext) # extinction efficiency at each wavelengthSame 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.
Comments and conditions
Conditions
- temperature
- 298 K
References
2) C. Wohlfarth, B. Wohlfarth. Optical Constants. Springer-Verlag, New York (1996) (as cited in ref. 1) - refractive index
- doi:10.1016/j.solener.2008.12.009 Optical properties of liquids for direct absorption solar thermal energy systems, Solar Energy (2009)
Cite
Todd P. Otanicar, Patrick E. Phelan and Jay S. Golden. Optical properties of liquids for direct absorption solar thermal energy systems. Solar Energy, 83, 969-977 (2009), doi:10.1016/j.solener.2008.12.009; C. Wohlfarth, B. Wohlfarth. Optical Constants. Springer-Verlag, New York (1996) (as cited in ref. 1) - refractive index; Data from the refractiveindex.info database (M. N. Polyanskiy, Sci. Data 11, 94 (2024), doi:10.1038/s41597-023-02898-2)
Data
Computed on 4 wavelengths, the same grid as the API and the library| λ (µm) | n | k |
|---|---|---|
| 0.434 | 1.449 | 6.401000e-08 |
| 0.486 | 1.44507 | 6.316000e-08 |
| 0.589 | 1.43983 | 6.463000e-08 |
| 0.656 | 1.43775 | 6.928000e-08 |
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
- —
25 °C