Refractive internal reflection

Attenuated total reflection FTIR is a well-established technique for obtaining absorbance spectra of opaque samples. The mode of interaction is unique because the probing radiation is propagated in a high index-of-refraction internal reflection element (IRE). The radiation interacts with the material of interest, which is in close contact with the IRE, forming an interface across which a nonpropagating evanescent field penetrates the surface of the material of interest to a depth in the order of one wavelength of the radiation. The electric field at the interface penetrates the rarer medium in the form of an evanescent field whose amplitude decays exponentially with distance into the rarer medium. 

Attenuated total reflection, on which atr—ftir is based, occurs when the rarer medium is absorbing and is characterized by a complex refractive index (40). The absorbing characteristics of this medium allow coupling to the evanescent field such that this field is attenuated to an extent dependent on k. The critical angle in the case of attenuated total reflection loses its meaning, but internal reflection still occurs. Thus, if the internally reflected beam is monitored, its intensity will reflect the loss associated with the internal reflection process at the interface with an absorbing medium. 

The real utility of d comes in the analysis of thin films. Consider a substrate of refractive index supporting a thin film of thickness d and refractive index in contact with an internal reflection element (the prism) of refractive index as shown in Figure 24. In this case, d depends on the polarization of the incident light beam and is given by... 

A feature of interest is the possibility of obtaining the condition of total internal reflection (TIR). Under this condition, the fundamental beam impinges on the interface from the liquid with the highest index of refraction yielding a SH intensity enhancement of more than a hundred times. Two TIR angles exist, given by the following relationships ... 

ATR is one of the most useful and versatile sampling modes in IR spectroscopy. When radiation is internally reflected at the interface between a high-refractive index ATR crystal (usually Ge, ZnSe, Si, or diamond) and the sample, an evanescent wave penetrates inside the sample to a depth that depends on the wavelength, the refractive indices, and the incidence angle. Because the penetration depth is typically less than 2 pm, ATR provides surface specific information, which can be seen as an advantage or not if surface orientation differs from that of the bulk. It also allows one to study thick samples without preparation and can be used to characterize highly absorbing bands that are saturated in transmission measurements. 

Fig. 9.1. Principle of total internal reflection. Light propagation and refraction in a system with different refractive indices separated with a smooth surface is shown. Left The incident light is entering from the high refractive index medium under an angle 61 which is less than the critical angle 0C. Right total internal reflection because the incident light angle 61 is larger than 6C.

Internal reflectance (attenuated total reflectance ATR ). The internal reflectance or, more usually, attenuated total reflectance (ATR), technique depends on the total reflectance of an IR beam at the internal face of an IR-transparent crystal of high IR refractive index, as shown in Figure 2.38. Medium 1 is a prism of such a material (for example, Si, Ge or KRS-5 [thallous bromide- iodide]), medium 2 is a thin coating of a metal (Au, Pt, Fe) which forms the working electrode and medium 3 is the electrolyte. The... 

Figure 14 illustrates an example of a structure that can provide enhanced fluorescence capture. It consists of a truncated cone, on top of which the fluorescent species is deposited. The cone angle, a, is chosen in order to cause total internal reflection of the emitted fluorescence (the angular distribution of which is calculated from the model) and is therefore dependent on the refractive indices of the cone material and the environment. The emitted fluorescence is reflected onto a detector positioned directly beneath the cone. 

Figure 2. Regular reflectance Replication of Snellius law for reflected and refracted radiation at interface in dependence on the refractive indices of the media adjacent to this interface, demonstrating total internal reflectance and evanescent field, exciting fluorophores close to the waveguide or even surface plasmon resonance.

Figure 1. Schematic of the optical fiber system. Excitation light is launched into the fiber. Due to the refractive index differences between the fiber core and cladding materials, the light is internally reflected and travels through the fiber with minimal loss (see inset). The emitted light is carried back from the fluorescent sensor located on the tip of the fiber to a CCD camera detector. Reprinted with permission from Science, 2000, 287, 451-452. Copyright 2000 AAAS.

In CL measurements many factors that influence the intensity of the CL signal should be taken into account. The CL signal may depend on the geometry of the sample. Internal refraction and reflection at the air-solution interfaces are important factors in determining the measured CL intensity, and should be taken into account, for example, when a CL cocktail is placed over a sample. The effect of sample geometry can be evaluated using model systems, such as enzymes... 

The configuration most often used in SPR instruments relies on the phenomenon of total internal reflectance and was developed by Kretchmann (Fig. 8).71,73 Total internal reflectance occurs when light traveling from a medium of higher refractive index toward a medium of lower refractive index reaches the interface and is reflected back completely into the higher refractive index medium. An important side effect of total internal reflection is the propagation of an evanescent wave across the interface into the medium of lower refractive index. 

This type of mode can exist only under certain conditions related to the geometry of the microtube and the refractive indices of the three regions. By defining the incident and reflection angles at r = R and r R2 as 6t and 02, the light transmitted through the inner boundary and totally internal reflected at the outer boundary should satisfy the following three criteria ... 

Fig. 10.3 Total internal reflection in a three layer waveguide structure. n, (i C, F, S) indicates the refractive index of layer i of the waveguide structure, % > nc s dF is the thickness of the core layer...

The light can propagate along the fibre usually by totally internal reflection (TIR) as indicated in fig. 18. TIR is controlled by the angle of incidence and also by the refractive indices of the media involved in the propagation. 

When light is moving from a medium with a large refractive index to one with a smaller refractive index, the phenomenon of total internal reflection can occur when the refracted angle is 90° or more. In a... 

In this method, the sample (such as a polymer film) is pressed against a transparent material having a high refractive index (called the internal reflection element (IRE)). The IR light beam passes through this material, rather than air, before and after reflecting from the sample, hence the reason for describing... 

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