Dielectric properties of materials at

THz and sub-THz frequencies

Mira Naftaly

Welcome to the National Physical Laboratory

❑Dielectric properties, quantities and units

❑Technologies for broadband dielectric

measurements at THz and sub-THz frequencies

❑Dielectric processes in materials at THz and sub-

THz frequencies

❑Low-loss materials at THz and sub-THz

frequencies
2
Dielectric properties, quantities
and units

“Dielectric” quantities
• Complex permittivity: 𝜀 ′ + 𝜀 ′′
𝜀′′
• Loss factor or tan-delta: tan 𝛿 =
𝜀′

“Spectroscopic” quantities
• Absorption coefficient: 𝑎 𝐿−1
• Extinction: 𝑘
• Refractive index: n

3
Conversion between quantities
𝑐
𝑘= 𝛼
4𝜋𝑓

𝜀 ′ + 𝜀 ′′ = 𝑛 + 𝑖𝑘 2 = 𝑛2 − 𝑘 2 + 𝑖 2𝑛𝑘

𝑛= 𝜀′ + 𝑘2 = 1Τ 𝜀 ′ + 𝜀′2 + 𝜀′′2 1/2

2

𝜀′′
𝑘=
2𝑛

𝜀′′ 2𝑛𝑘
tan 𝛿 = = 2
𝜀′ 𝑛 − 𝑘2
4
Frequency and wavelength unit
conversion

Frequency Wavelength Wavenumber Energy

(THz) (m) (cm-1) (meV)

  = c/  = /c eV = hc/108

1 299.8 33.35 4.136
299.8 1 10000 1240
0.02998 10000 1 0.1240
0.2418 1240 8.065 1

5
❑Dielectric properties, quantities and units

❑Technologies for broadband dielectric

measurements at THz and sub-THz
frequencies

❑Dielectric processes in materials at THz and sub-

THz frequencies

❑Low-loss materials at THz and sub-THz

frequencies
6
Technologies for broadband
dielectric measurements

▪ Time-domain spectroscopy

▪ Frequency-domain spectroscopy

▪ VNA-based spectroscopy

▪ Fourier transform spectroscopy

7
THz spectrometer instruments

Closed-loop
• TDS – Time-domain spectrometer (pulsed)
• FDS – Frequency-domain spectrometer (CW)
• VNA – Vector network analyser (CW)
➢ Coherent detection measures field amplitude and phase
Open-loop
• FTS – Fourier transform spectrometer (CW)
• Scanning spectrometer – any combination of a tunable
source and a broadband detector
➢ Incoherent detection measures field intensity

Coherent systems
strongly dominate broadband terahertz measurements 8
Open-loop and closed-loop
systems
An open loop system consists of:
• an emitter and a detector which operate independently;
• optics to guide radiation from emitter to detector.

emitter optics detector

A closed loop system consists of:

• an emitter and a detector which are activated by the same source;
• optics to guide radiation from emitter to detector.

pump
emitter optics detector
source
9
Time-domain spectrometer (TDS)
TDS is the dominant device for broadband THz measurements
– accounting for >90% of published results.
THz
emitter beam optics detector
TDS performance
pump beam • Broadband operation
• One-shot spectral acquisition
• Large bandwidth:
pump laser probe beam • 4-5 THz as standard
delay • up to 20 THz is possible
• Frequency resolution 1-10 GHz
TDS components:
▪ Pump laser – femtosecond pulsed
▪ Differential variable delay
▪ THz emitter – photoconductive antenna (most common)
▪ THz detector – photoconductive antenna (most common)
10
▪ THz beam guiding optics
Photoconductive THz emitters
and detectors

Emitter Detector
VDC
A
A
THz A THz
beam beam

THz THz
beam beam

pump probe
beam THz polarization beam THz polarization
11
TDS operation
Uses a single-cycle THz pulse
Data is acquired in time domain
by scanning the probe pulse over the THz pulse using variable time-delay.
THz ∞
a 𝑆𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑎𝑙 (𝑡0 ) ∝ න 𝐼𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑏𝑒 𝑡 − 𝑡0 𝐸𝑇𝐻𝑧 𝑡 𝑑𝑡
−∞

Probe
Field amplitude

0
Time

probe pulse length 

pump pulse length signal proportional to THz field
 coherent detection
 Spectral data from TDS

Amplitude and phase spectra obtained via Fourier Transform.

Time domain Frequency domain

0
40
main peak a 1E-3
sinusoidal b
oscillations
20 due to system
artifacts -20
1E-4

Amplitude (arb.)
0
FFT

Phase (rad)
Signal (mV)

phase

-20 1E-5
-40
system artifacts amplitude
-40
1E-6
-60 noise floor -60

1E-7
-80 0 1 2 3 4 5
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Frequency (THz)
Delay (ps)

13
Parameter extraction in TDS
Most TDS measurements are performed to obtain n &  !

Calculating refractive index and absorption coefficient of material from TDS data:

Field amplitude: Eref & Esample

Phase: 𝜙ref & 𝜙sample
Refractive index: n
Absorption coefficient:  [L-1](units: 1/L)
Sample thickness: d [L]
𝜙𝑟𝑒𝑓 − 𝜙𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑐
𝑛 𝜔 =1+ (1)
2𝜋𝑓𝑑
𝑛− 1 2+ 𝑘2
𝑇(𝜔) = 1 − (2)
𝑛 + 1 2 + 𝑘2
𝛼𝑐
𝑘 𝜔 = (3)
2𝑓
2 𝐸𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒
𝛼 𝜔 = − ln 𝑇 (4)
𝑑 𝐸𝑟𝑒𝑓
Note: when k is non-negligible, Eqs. 2-4 must be calculated iteratively.
Example: lactose monohydrate
a
Time-domain data
1
Signal (a.u.)

-1
Reference Frequency- Calculated
Lactose
-2
domain data optical
0 10 20 30 40 50
Time (ps) (via FFT) properties
b
reference phase
lactose phase 0 c 100 1.9
Lactose

Absorption coefficient (cm-1)

absorption
1 80 coefficient
refractive
1.8
Amplitude (a.u.)

Refractive index
index
60
Phase

0.1 1.7
-5000
40

0.01 1.6
20
reference amplitude
lactose amplitude
1E-3 -10000 0 1.5
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5

Frequency (THz) Frequency (THz)

Frequency-domain spectrometer
(FDS)
FDS has a narrower measurement bandwidth than TDS, but
has the advantage of much higher frequency resolution.
THz
emitter
laser 1 beam FDS performance
optics • Broadband operation
optical fibres • Frequency scanning
laser 2 detector
• Bandwidth: up to 2.5 THz
• Frequency resolution <50 MHz
FDS components:
▪ Two stabilised CW lasers with offset wavelengths
- THz is generated as the difference frequency
▪ THz emitter – photoconductive mixer
▪ THz detector – photoconductive mixer
16
▪ THz beam guiding optics
Example: whispering-gallery-
mode resonance
Phase-sensitive (coherent) detection gives rise to phase “fringes”
(these are not standing waves!)
Therefore an envelope function must be applied to the data.

Frequency-domain data Calculated transmission

Reference
a Sample b 1
4 Ref. envelope
Sample envelope FWHM = 42 MHz
3
0.1
Photocurrent (nA)

Transmission
1
0.01
0

-1
0.001
-2

-3
1E-4
617.6 617.8 618.0 618.2 618.4 617.6 617.8 618.0 618.2 618.4
Frequency (GHz) Frequency (GHz)

(Figure courtesy of Dominik Vogt, University of Auckland, New Zealand)

VNA-based FDS

VNA-based spectrometers have a narrower measurement

bandwidth than TDS or FDS, but higher frequency resolution.

VNA VNA performance

• Frequency scanning
• Bandwidth: up to 1.5 THz
• Frequency resolution <0.1 MHz
extenders with horns

Much more
Components: information in
▪ VNA with frequency extenders other talks!
▪ Horn antennas or other optics
18
▪ All-electronic
 Fourier Transform Spectrometer
(FTS)
FTS measures incoherently. It is an interferometric device.
Its major advantage is an extremely broad bandwidth.
beam splitter 2
mirror 1
mirror 1
detector
source
mirror 2

beam splitter
source

mirror 2
detector FTS performance
beam splitter 1
Michelson Mach-Zender • Broadband operation
• Single-scan full-spectrum
FTS components:
• Bandwidth:
▪ Broadband source (e.g. Hg lamp) • 1-180 THz standard
▪ Broadband power detector • 0.05-840 THz available
▪ Optics • Frequency resolution
▪ Precision scanning mechanism • 1 GHz standard
• <0.1 GHz available
FTS operation
Data is acquired as an interferogram
0.4

0.3

0.2 FFT
Transmission is calculated by
Signal (a.u.)

0.1
1. Taking FFT
0.0 2. dividing by reference
-0.1 1.0
SiC
-0.2 standing
0.8
waves
-0.3

Transmission
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
0.6
Displacement (mm)

0.4

• Oscillations are etalon fringes due

0.2
to standing waves in the sample.
• Fringes disappear when the 0.0
5 10 15 20
sample has strong absorption Frequency (THz)
 Parameter extraction in FTS
Step 1: n is extracted from the fringe spacing: Note: extracting n
from fringe spacing
f = c/2nd (ideal case) is non-trivial!
Step 2:  is extracted from the etalon
transmission function: Example: high-resistivity Si
10 3.418

Absorption coefficient (cm-1)

1
𝑇 𝑓 = 𝐼𝑇 (𝑓)/𝐼0 (𝑓) = 8 3.417
ℳ+ℱ sin2 𝛽𝑑
4𝑅

Refractive index
ℱ 𝑓 = 6 3.416
1−𝑅 2
2
1 − 𝑅𝑒 −2𝛼𝑑 4 3.415
ℳ 𝑓 = >1
1 − 𝑅 2 𝑒 −2𝛼𝑑
𝑛−1 2 2 3.414
𝑅 𝑓 = 𝑛+1 2
𝛽 = 2𝜋𝑓𝑛/𝑐 0 3.413
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Frequency (THz)

Parameter extraction in FTS is not straightforward,

with many potential sources of error.
Comparative advantages –
a personal view

FTS

Criteria
Science
• Bandwidth
TDS FDS
• Frequency resolution
• SNR & dynamic range
• Unambiguous parameter extraction
• Accuracy & precision
Industrial
• Speed of measurement VNA
• Ease of measurement
• Repeatability
• Size of instrument
• Suitability for in-line applications
22
• Cost
❑Dielectric properties, quantities and units

❑Technologies for broadband dielectric

measurements at THz and sub-THz frequencies

❑Dielectric processes in materials at THz and

sub-THz frequencies

❑Low-loss materials at THz and sub-THz

frequencies
23
 Very few materials are THz-transparent!

Absorption loss mechanisms

• Absorption by free charge carriers
• Absorption by lattice modes (phonons)
• Absorption via dielectric relaxations in polar materials
• Disorder-induced absorption in amorphous materials

24
Absorption by free charge
carriers
▪ Free charge carriers in the material give rise to complex conductivity which
is frequency-dependent.
▪ Complex conductivity in turn determines the value of the complex dielectric
constant.

►THz-transparent materials must have high resistivity.

The frequency dependence of complex conductivity is described by the

Drude model:
𝜎0 𝜎0 𝜎0 𝜔𝜏𝑐
𝜎 𝜔 = = + 𝑖
1 − 𝑖𝜔𝜏𝑐 1 + 𝜔 2 𝜏𝑐2 1 + 𝜔 2 𝜏𝑐2
which gives the complex dielectric constant as:
𝜎(𝜔) 𝑖𝜎0 𝜎0 𝜏𝑐 𝜎0
𝜀 = 𝜀 ′ + 𝑖𝜀" = 𝜀∞ + 𝑖 = 𝜀∞ + = 𝜀∞ − + 𝑖
𝜔 𝜔(1 − 𝑖𝜔𝜏𝑐 ) 1 + 𝜔 2 𝜏𝑐2 𝜔 1 + 𝜔 2 𝜏𝑐2
𝜀∞ - intrinsic dielectric constant (real)
𝜎0 - DC conductivity (real)
25
𝜏𝑐 - carrier relaxation time
Absorption and refractive index
according to the Drude model

Absorption and dispersion

Absorption coefficient

Abs - low conductivity increase with conductivity.

Abs - high conductivity

Refractive index
RI - low conductivity
RI - high conductivity

Frequency

Note: free-carrier absorption is the only type

of loss mechanism which falls with frequency. 26
 Drude absorption and refractive index:
example

dots:
𝜎0 = 8.1  cm

circles:
𝜎0 = 9.0  cm

solid lines:
Drude model

M van Exeter & D Grischkowsky, Phys Rev B 41 (1990-I) 12140-12149 27

Absorption by lattice modes
(phonons)

▪ Resonant phonon absorption occurs when the incident

frequency matches that of vibrational modes of the lattice.
▪ Narrow phonon absorption lines occur only in crystals.
▪ Phonon resonances clustered in broad frequency bands are
termed Reststrahlen bands. These can occur in both crystalline
and amorphous materials.
▪ At Reststrahlen frequencies the material is opaque, and its
reflectivity is close to unity.

►THz-transparent materials must have phonon

frequencies above the THz band of interest.
28
Reststrahlen bands and refractive
index
▪ In materials that have a Reststrahlen band, the refractive index is nearly
always higher at frequencies below the band than it is above it.
▪ This is because the Reststrahen band signals the onset of ionic polarisability.
▪ At frequencies above the band, only electronic polarisability contributes to the
real permittivity.
▪ At frequencies below the band, both electronic and ionic polarisabilities
contribute to real permittivity.
▪ Real permittivity is related to polarisability via the Clausius-Mossotti equation:
𝜀 ′ − 1 𝑁𝑝
=
𝜀′ + 2 3𝜀0
𝑝 – material polarisability
𝑁 – number of atoms or molecules per unit volume
𝜀0 – permittivity of free space

►In materials with a Reststrahlen band:

THz refractive index is higher than that in the visible.
29
Phonon absorption in crystalline
materials: examples
90 3.5

80 GaSe
Absorption coefficient (cm-1)

3.4
70

Refractive index
60 3.3

50
3.2
40

30 3.1

20
3.0
10 120 1.9
Lactose
0 2.9

Absorption coefficient (cm-1)

0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 100
Frequency (THz)

Refractive index
80 1.8

60

40 1.7

20

0 1.6
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5
Frequency (THz)
Absorption via dielectric relaxations in
polar materials
▪ Absorption via dielectric relaxations occurs in polar materials, i.e. materials that have
polarisable bonds.
▪ When an oscillating electromagnetic field interacts with polarizable bonds in a
material, it causes charge separation and creates dipoles which oscillate in response
to the field.
▪ At low frequencies these dipole oscillations are unhindered, and the material is
transparent.
▪ At higher frequencies the dipole motions are impeded by friction in the material.
▪ This results in a delayed response relative to the field, giving rise to absorption.

►THz-transparent materials must be non-polar.

The frequency dependence of the dielectric constant arising from the response time of
dipoles is described by the Debye model:
𝜀 0 −𝜀 ∞ 𝜀 0 − 𝜀 ∞ 𝜔𝜏𝑑
𝜀= 𝜀 ∞ + +𝑖
1 + 𝜔 2 𝜏𝑑2 1 + 𝜔 2 𝜏𝑑2
𝜀 0 - DC dielectric constant
𝜀 ∞ - high-frequency dielectric constant
𝜏𝑑 - response time of the dipoles
Polar materials have large values of 𝜀 0 − 𝜀 ∞ . 31
Absorption and refractive index
according to the Debye model
Absorption coefficient

Refractive index
RI - strongly polar
RI - weakly polar

Example: pure liquid water

Abs - strongly polar
Abs - weakly polar
600 8
liquid water

Absorption coefficient (cm-1)

Frequency
6

Refractive index
400
Absorption increases with
both 𝜀 0 − 𝜀 ∞ and 𝜏𝑑 . 4
200
Absorption rises with frequency;
refractive index falls. 2

0
0 1 2 3
Frequency (GHz)

32
Disorder-induced absorption in
amorphous materials
▪ Disorder-induced absorption
occurs in all types of amorphous
materials.
▪ Amorphous materials have Example:
featureless THz absorption effect of disorder-induced
spectra that rise with frequency absorption –
due to a broad continuum of quartz vs silica glass
lattice modes.
25 2.15
▪ Disorder-induced absorption rises
with frequency: 𝛼(𝜔)𝑛(𝜔)=𝐾𝜔𝛽 ;

Absorption coefficient (cm-1)

K is material-dependent;  ~2. 20 2.10
▪ Spectral features are an indication

Refractive index
of crystallinity. 15 Abs quartz 2.05
Abs silica
RI quartz
►THz-transparent materials 10 RI silica 2.00
should be crystalline.
5
1.95

0
1.90
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5
Frequency (THz)
Scattering loss

▪ In inhomogeneous materials scattering gives rise to

(additional) transmission loss.

▪ Scattering is of particular concern in:

1. Porous materials (e.g. foams, ceramics);
2. Powders;
3. Pellets made of compressed powders;
4. Materials with rough surfaces;
5. Textured materials.
▪ Scattering increases with the size of the scattering centers.

In cases of a featureless loss edge, it is not possible to

differentiate spectroscopically between scattering and
absorption losses.
34
Scattering loss: examples

M Franz et al, Appl Phys Lett 92 (2008) 021107

35
Y C Shen et al, Appl Phys Lett 92 (2008) 051103
❑Dielectric properties, quantities and units

❑Technologies for broadband dielectric

measurements at THz and sub-THz frequencies

❑Dielectric processes in materials at THz and sub-

THz frequencies

❑Low-loss materials at THz and sub-THz

frequencies
36
THz-transparent materials

Few materials are THz-transparent!

▪ Inorganic crystals
▪ Non-polar polymers

37
Inorganic crystals

▪ Carbon group crystals

• Diamond
• High resistivity silicon
• High resistivity germanium
• Hexagonal silicon carbide
▪ Oxides
• Quartz
• Sapphire
▪ Nitrides
• Aluminium nitride
• Gallium nitride
• Silicon nitride
38
Diamond C

Crystal Chemical formula C

properties Crystal type Isotropic 0.7
Crystal system Cubic

Absorption coefficient (cm-1)

Fd3ത m 0.6
Optical Transparency (visible) YES
properties Colour Colourless 0.5
Birefringence NO
Refractive index @ 590 nm 2.4175 0.4
Band gap eV 5.47
Physical Density g/cm3 3.515
0.3
properties Moh’s hardness 10
0.2
2.3795
0.1
2.3790
0.0
Refractive index

0 5 10 15 20
2.3785 Frequency (THz)

2.3780

2.3775

2.3770
0 5 10 15 20
39
Frequency (THz)
Silicon Si
High resistivity (undoped)

Crystal properties Chemical formula Si

Crystal type Isotropic
Crystal system Cubic 10
Fd3ത m

Absorption coefficient (cm-1)

Optical properties Transparency (visible) NO
8
Colour Metallic grey
Birefringence NO
Refractive index @ 1.55 m 3.4777 6
Band gap eV 1.12
Physical properties Density g/cm3 2.329
Moh’s hardness 6.5 4

3.420
2

3.419
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Refractive index

3.418 Frequency (THz)

3.417

3.416

3.415
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
40
Frequency (THz)
 Germanium Ge
High resistivity (undoped)

Crystal Chemical formula Ge

properties Crystal type Isotropic 20
Crystal system Cubic

Absorption coefficient (cm-1)

Fd3ത m
Optical Transparency (visible) NO
15
properties Colour Metallic grey
Birefringence NO
Refractive index @ 2.8 m 4.052
Band gap eV 0.66 10
Physical Density g/cm3 5.323
properties Moh’s hardness 6.0
5
4.010

4.009
0
0 2 4 6 8 10
4.008
Refractive index

Frequency (THz)
4.007

4.006

4.005

4.004

4.003

4.002
0 2 4 6 8 10
41
Frequency (THz)
 Hexagonal silicon carbide SiC
Crystal properties Chemical formula SiC
Crystal type Uniaxial
Crystal system Hexagonal
C46v-P63mc
Polytypes 4H-SIC; 6H-SIC
Optical properties Transparency (visible) YES
Colour Colourless
Birefringence YES
Refractive index @ 590 nm o – 2.56
e – 2.60
Band gap eV 3.23 (4H); 3.05 (6H)
Physical properties Density g/cm3 3.21
Moh’s hardness 9.5

3.6
o-ray
3.5 e-ray
Refractive index

3.4

3.3

3.2

3.1
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 Tarekegne et al. Optics express 27 (2019): 3618-3628.
Frequency (THz)
 Quartz SiO2

Crystal Chemical formula SiO2

properties Crystal type Uniaxial
Crystal system Trigonal 12
Polytypes P312 ; P322 o-ray

Absorption coefficient (cm-1)

Optical Transparency (visible) YES 10 e-ray
properties Colour Colourless
Birefringence YES 8
Refractive index @ 590 nm o – 1.544
e – 1.553
6
Band gap eV 8.4
Physical Density g/cm3 2.649
properties Moh’s hardness 7 4

2.30 2

o-ray
0
2.25 e-ray 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Refractive index

Frequency (THz)
2.20

2.15

2.10

2.05
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
43
Frequency (THz)
 Sapphire Al2O3

Crystal properties Chemical formula Al2O3

Crystal type Uniaxial
Crystal system Trigonal 40
R3c
o-ray
Optical properties Transparency (visible) YES

Absorption coefficient (cm-1)

e-ray
Colour Colourless
30
Birefringence YES
Refractive index @ 590 nm o – 1.7680
e – 1.7600
Band gap eV 9.9 20
Physical properties Density g/cm3 3.97
Moh’s hardness 9
10
3.8

3.7 o-ray
e-ray 0
3.6 0 1 2 3 4 5
Refractive index

Frequency (THz)
3.5

3.4

3.3

3.2

3.1

3.0
0 1 2 3 4 5
44
Frequency (THz)
 Nitrides

Aluminium nitride AlN Gallium nitride GaN Silicon nitride Si3N4

25 25 25
o-ray

Absorption coefficient (cm-1)

o-ray

Absorption coefficient (cm-1)

Absorption coefficient (cm-1)

20 e-ray 20 e-ray 20

15 15 15

10 10 10

5 5 5

0 0 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 0 1 2 3
Frequency (THz) Frequency (THz) Frequency (THz)

3.4 2.78
o-ray o-ray
3.4
e-ray e-ray
3.3 2.77
Refractive index
Refractive index

Refractive index
3.2

3.2 2.76

3.0

3.1 2.75

2.8

3.0 2.74
0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 0 1 2 3
Frequency (THz) Frequency (THz) Frequency (THz)
 THz-transparent crystals

Crystal THz Absorption Absorption Absorption Transparency

refractive @ 1 THz @ 3 THz @ 10 THz in the visible
index (cm-1) (cm-1) (cm-1)
Diamond 2.38 0.1 0.12 0.27 Yes
Silicon 3.42 0.1 0.1 0.3 No
Germanium 4.01 0.2 1.3 20 No
Silicon carbide (4H-SiC) 3.13 0.1 0.4 6 Yes
Z- cut Quartz 2.11 0.2 1.2 45 Yes
Z- cut Sapphire 3.1 1.0 9 68 Yes

46
Non-polar polymers

How to recognise non-polar polymers?

Polymers containing only C and H (or F) atoms

47
 Polyethylene
Appearance: milky-white

High density polyethylene (HDPE)

Low density polyethylene (LDPE)
Linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE)
High molecular weight polyethylene (HMWPE)
Ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE)
Polypropylene
Appearance: colourless & transparent
Poly-methyl-pentene PMP (TPX)
Appearance: colourless & transparent
Cyclo-olefin copolymer COC
Appearance: colourless & transparent
Polystyrene
Appearance: colourless & transparent

52
Polytetrafluoroethylene PTFE (Teflon)
Appearance: bright white

53
Paraffin wax, jelly and liquid

▪ Alkanes whose formula is C2H2n+2 .

▪ Wax has chains of 20-40 atoms;
liquid has chains of 6-16 atoms;
jelly is a mixture of longer and shorter chains.

▪ Wax and jelly are both partially crystalline, and appear translucent.
▪ Liquid paraffin is colourless and transparent.

► Paraffins can be used as mounting or suspension media for a

wide variety of materials and powders, and as optical contact media.

54
Paraffin

6 1.50
Absorption coefficient (cm-1)

Refractive index
4 wax 1.49
liquid
wax
liquid

2 1.48

0 1.47
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5
Frequency (THz)

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THz-transparent polymers

Polymer THz refractive Absorption @ Absorption @ Absorption @ Transparency

index (mean) 1 THz (cm-1) 3 THz (cm-1) 10 THz (cm-1) in the visible
LDPE 1.51 0.2 1.6 ~2 No
HDPE 1.53 0.2 1.6 ~3 No
PTFE 1.43 0.5 2.8 >50 No
COC 1.52-1.53 0.2 0.8 ~2 Yes
PMP (TPX) 1.46 0.3 0.8 ~2.5 Yes
PP 1.52 0.3 ~1.5 ~3.5 Yes
PS 1.58 1.5 2.5 ~5 Yes
Paraffin liq. 1.47 0.5 1.7 NA Yes
Paraffin wax 1.49 0.8 4.2 NA No

Note: Polymers that are transparent in the visible and at THz have
similar refractive indices in both regions ( nvisible  nTHz ).
This aids THz beam path alignment using visible light. 56
Thank you

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