OPTICAL

PROPERTIES
OF MATERIALS
 01 INTRODUCTION 09 TRANSMISSION

02 ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION 10 COLOR

overview
03 LIGHT INTERACTION WITH 11 OPACITY AND TRANSLUSCENCY
SOLIDS IN INSULATOR

04 ATOMIC AND ELECTRONIC 12 LUMINISCENCE

INTERACTIONS
PHOTOCONDUCTIVITY
05
OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF 13
METALS

06 REFRACTION 14 OPTICAL FIBERS IN

COMMUNICATION

07 REFLECTION

08 ABSORPTION
| Introduction

Optical Property
refers to a material’s response to
exposure to electromagnetic
radiation and, in particular, to
visible light.
| electromagnetic radiation

considered to be wavelike, consisting of electric and magnetic field

components that are perpendicular to each other and also to the
direction of propagation

light
heat (or radiant energy)
radar, radio waves
x-rays
| electromagnetic radiation

The spectrum of
electromagnetic
radiation, including
wavelength ranges
for the various colors
in the visible
spectrum.
 | electromagnetic radiation

visible light lies within a very narrow region of the

spectrum, with wavelengths ranging between about 0.4
μm (4 × 10−7 m) and 0.7 μm

perceived color is determined by its wavelength

Example
radiation having a wavelength of approximately 0.4 m
appears violet, whereas green and red occur at about
0.5 and 0.65 m, respectively
light radiation may be transmitted through the medium, some will be absorbed, and some
will be reflected at the interface between the two media

intensity I0 of the beam incident to the surface of the solid medium must equal the sum of
the intensities of the transmitted, absorbed, and reflected beams, denoted as IT, IA, and
IR, respectively, or
03 light interaction with solids

TRANSPARENT
capable of transmitting light with relatively little absorption and reflection
can see through them

TRANSLUCENT
light is transmitted diffusely
light is scattered within the interior to the degree that objects
are not clearly distinguishable when viewed through a specimen
of the material
OPAQUE
impervious to the transmission of visible light
Bulk metals are opaque in the visible spectrum, while electrically insulating
materials can be transparent, and some semiconducting materials are
transparent while others are opaque.
03 light interaction with solids
optical phenomena that occur within solid
materials involve interactions between the
electromagnetic radiation and atoms, ions, and/or
electrons.

two of the most important of these interactions

are
ELECTRONIC POLARIZATION
ELECTRON ENERGY TRANSITIONS
 04 atomic and electronic interaction

ELECTRONIC POLARIZATION
one component of an electromagnetic wave is simply a
rapidly fluctuating electric field
electric field interacts with the electron cloud
surrounding each atom within its path

two consequences of this polarization

some of the radiation energy may be absorbed
electric field interacts with the electron cloud
surrounding each atom within its path (manifested as
refraction)
04 atomic and electronic interaction

ELECTRON ENERGY TRANSITIONS

absorption and emission of electromagnetic
radiation may involve electron transitions
from one energy state to another

change in energy experienced by the

electron, ΔE, depends on the radiation
frequency

ΔE- change in energy

h – Planck’s constant
v - frequency (Hz)
04 atomic and electronic interaction

A second important concept is that a

stimulated electron cannot remain in an
excited state indefinitely; after a short time,
it falls or decays back into its ground state,
or unexcited level, with reemission of
electromagnetic radiation.
05 optical properties of metals

Metals are opaque because the incident radiation

having frequencies within the visible range excites
electrons into unoccupied energy

Total absorption is within a very thin outer layer,

usually less than 0.1 μm; thus only metallic films
thinner than 0.1 μm are capable of transmitting
visible light

All frequencies of visible light are absorbed by

metals because of the continuously available
empty electron states, which permit electron
transitions
05 optical properties of metals
metals are opaque to all electromagnetic radiation on the low end of the
frequency spectrum, including radio waves, infrared and visible light, and
ultraviolet radiation

metals are opaque to all electromagnetic radiation on the low end of

the frequency spectrum, including radio waves, infrared and visible
light, and ultraviolet radiation

Metals are transparent to high-frequency (x- and γ-ray)

radiation.

Because metals are opaque and highly reflective, the perceived color is
determined by the wavelength distribution of the radiation that is
reflected and not absorbed.
05.1 optical properties of nonmetals

By virtue of their electron

energy band structures,
nonmetallic materials may be
transparent to visible light.

By virtue of their electron

energy band structures,
nonmetallic materials may be
transparent to visible light.
Light that is transmitted into the interior of transparent
materials experiences a decrease in velocity, and, as a
result, is bent at the interface

The index of refraction of a material is defined as the ratio

of the velocity in a vacuum to the velocity in the medium
or

n - index of refraction
c - velocity in a vacuum
v - velocity in the medium
06 refraction

magnitude of n (or the degree of bending) will depend

on the wavelength of the light. This effect is
graphically demonstrated by the familiar dispersion or
separation of a beam of white light into its component
colors by a glass prism.

Not only does the index of refraction affect the optical

path of light, but also, as explained shortly, it
influences the fraction of incident light that is
reflected at the surface.
06 refraction
 light radiation passes from one medium into another having
a different index of refraction, some of the light is scattered
at the interface between the two media even if both are
transparent.

The reflectivity R represents the fraction of the incident

light that is reflected at the interface, or

; Io and IR are the intensities of the incident and reflected

beams, respectively
In principle, light radiation is absorbed in this
group of materials by two basic mechanisms,
which also influence the transmission
characteristics of these nonmetals.

Absorption by electronic polarization is

important only at light frequencies

Other mechanism involves valence band–

conduction band electron transitions, which
depend on the electron energy band
structure of the material
07 absorption

(a) Mechanism of photon absorption

for nonmetallic materials in which
an electron is excited across the
band gap, leaving behind a hole in
the valence band. The energy of
the photon absorbed is Eg, which is
necessarily greater than the band
gap energy Eg. (b) Emission of a
photon of light by a direct electron
transition across the band gap.
07 absorption

Pure nonmetallic materials are either intrinsically transparent or opaque. Opacity

results in relatively narrow-band-gap materials (Eg 1.8 eV) as a result of absorption
whereby a photon’s energy is sufficient to promote valence band–conduction band
electron transitions

Transparent nonmetals have band gaps greater than 3.1 eV.

For nonmetallic materials that have band gaps between 1.8 and 3.1 eV, only a portion of
the visible spectrum is absorbed; these materials appear colored.

Some light absorption occurs in even transparent materials as a consequence of

electronic polarization.
 The phenomena of absorption, reflection, and transmission may be applied to the
passage of light through a transparent solid

For an incident beam of intensity Io that impinges on the front surface of a specimen of
thickness l and absorption coefficient , the transmitted intensity at the back face IT is,

where R is the reflectance; for this expression, it is assumed that the same medium
exists outside both front and back faces.
08 transmission
Transparent materials appear colored as a
consequence of specific wavelength ranges of light
that are selectively absorbed; the color discerned is a
result of the combination of wavelengths that are
transmitted.

If absorption is uniform for all visible wavelengths, the

material appears colorless;

The color discerned is a result of the distribution of

wavelength ranges in the transmitted beam.
 Normally transparent materials may be made translucent or even opaque if
the incident light beam experiences interior reflection and/or refraction.

Opacity results when the scattering is so extensive that virtually none of the
incident beam is transmitted, undeflected, to the back surface.

Translucency and opacity as a result of internal scattering may occur

(1) in polycrystalline materials that have anisotropic indices of refraction;
(2) in two-phase materials;
(3) in materials containing small pores; and
(4) in highly crystalline polymers.
| OPACITY AND TRANSLUCENCY IN INSULATORS
 materials which are capable of absorbing energy and then
reemitting visible light in a phenomenon called luminescence.

luminescence is classified according:

the magnitude of the delay time between absorption
reemission events

If reemission occurs for times much less than one second, the
phenomenon is termed fluorescence; for longer times, it is called
phosphorescence.

Electroluminescence is the phenomenon whereby light is emitted

as a result of electron–hole recombination events that are induced
in a forward-biased diode
additional charge carriers may be generated as a consequence of
photon-induced electron transitions in which light is absorbed; the
attendant increase in conductivity is called photoconductivity.

when a specimen of a photoconductive material is illuminated, the

conductivity increases. This phenomenon is used in photographic
light meters.
Signal transmission through a metallic wire conductor is electronic (i.e., by electrons),
whereas using optically transparent fibers, signal transmission is photonic, meaning that it
uses photons of electromagnetic or light radiation.

Use of fiber-optic systems has improved speed of transmission, information density, and
transmission distance, with a reduction in error rate; furthermore, there is no
electromagnetic interference with fiber optics.

With regard to speed, optical fibers can transmit, in one second, information equivalent
to three episodes of your favorite television program.
| OPTICAL FIBERS IN COMMUNICATIONS
An optical fiber is composed of the following elements:
A core through which the pulses of light propagate
The cladding, which provides for total internal reflection and containment of the light
beam within the core
The coating, which protects the core and cladding from damage

Schematic cross section

of an optical fiber.