Optical Properties of Materials

Having developed the dielectric function for dielectric materials in Chapter 23, we are now in position to explore the optical properties of nonconductive materials. We will then modify the dielectric function to accoimt for free electrons and will explore the optical properties of metals and other conductive media. 

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It should be noted that low-loss spectra are basically connected to optical properties of materials. This is because for small scattering angles the energy-differential cross-section dfj/dF, in other words the intensity of the EEL spectrum measured, is directly proportional to Im -l/ (E,q) [2.171]. Here e = ei + iez is the complex dielectric function, E the energy loss, and q the momentum vector. Owing to the comparison to optics (jqj = 0) the above quoted proportionality is fulfilled if the spectrum has been recorded with a reasonably small collection aperture. When Im -l/ is gathered its real part can be determined, by the Kramers-Kronig transformation, and subsequently such optical quantities as refraction index, absorption coefficient, and reflectivity. 

Optical sensing in general is based on changes of the optical properties of materials within the optical circuitry due to changes in the environment. 

There is great interest in the electrical and optical properties of materials confined within small particles known as nanoparticles. These are materials made up of clusters (of atoms or molecules) that are small enough to have material properties very different from the bulk. Most of the atoms or molecules are near the surface and have different environments from those in the interior—indeed, the properties vary with the nanoparticle s actual size. These are key players in what is hoped to be the nanoscience revolution. There is still very active work to learn how to make nanoscale particles of defined size and composition, to measure their properties, and to understand how their special properties depend on particle size. One vision of this revolution includes the possibility of making tiny machines that can imitate many of the processes we see in single-cell organisms, that possess much of the information content of biological systems, and that have the ability to form tiny computer components and enable the design of much faster computers. However, like truisms of the past, nanoparticles are such an unknown area of chemical materials that predictions of their possible uses will evolve and expand rapidly in the future. 

The third order nonlinear susceptibility is an important optical property of materials because of its contributions to numerous nonlinear optical processes. (1)(2) With the growing interest in all-op ical signal processing it has been proposed (3) recently that x ( 1, 2 3) and especially the degenerate third order nonlinear susceptibility x 3 (-w, to, 00) [defined as x (< >)], be utilized through its contributions to the changes in dielectric constant e with optical field strength E ... 

R. J. D. Tilley, Colour and the Optical Properties of Materials, Wiley, Chichester, 2000. 

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