Simultaneous estimation of aerosol optical constants and size distribution from angular light-scattering measurement signals

The angular light-scattering measurement（ALSM） method combined with an improved artificial bee colony algorithm is introduced to determine aerosol optical constants and aerosol size distribution（ASD） simultaneously. Meanwhile, an optimized selection principle of the ALSM signals based on the sensitivity analysis and principle component analysis（PCA）is proposed to improve the accuracy of the retrieval results. The sensitivity analysis of the ALSM signals to the optical constants or characteristic parameters in the ASD is studied first to find the optimized selection region of measurement angles. Then, the PCA is adopted to select the optimized measurement angles within the optimized selection region obtained by sensitivity analysis. The investigation reveals that, compared with random selection measurement angles, the optimized selection measurement angles can provide more useful measurement information to ensure the retrieval accuracy. Finally,the aerosol optical constants and the ASDs are reconstructed simultaneously. The results show that the retrieval accuracy of refractive indices is better than that of absorption indices, while the characteristic parameters in ASDs have similar retrieval accuracy. Moreover, the retrieval accuracy in studying L-N distribution is a little better than that in studying Gamma distribution for the difference of corresponding correlation coefficient matrixes of the ALSM signals. All the results confirm that the proposed technique is an effective and reliable technique in estimating the aerosol optical constants and ASD simultaneously.

Thickness dependence of the optical constants of oxidized copper thin films based on ellipsometry and transmittance

Thin oxidized copper films in various thickness values are deposited onto quartz glass substrates by electron beam evaporation. The ellipsometry parameters and transmittance in a wavelength range of 300 nm-1000 nm are collected by a spectroscopic ellipsometer and a spectrophotometer respectively. The effective thickness and optical constants, i.e., refractive index n and extinction coefficient k, are accurately determined by using newly developed ellipsometry combined with transmittance iteration method. It is found that the effective thickness determined by this method is close to the physical thickness and has obvious difference from the mass thickness for very thin film due to variable density of film. Furthermore, the thickness dependence of optical constants of thin oxidized Cu films is analyzed.

Study on optical constants inversion and infrared transmission characteristics of aerosol particles

Based on the experimental infrared spectral transmittances,an inverse model has been developed to determine the optical constants of the aerosol particles (SiO2 and Al2O3).Combined with the Mie theory and Kramers-Kronig (K-K) relations,the complex refractive indices of the SiO2 and Al2O3 particles are retrieved.The effects of the measurement errors on the inverse results are also investigated.With the optical constants inversed from the experiment,the discrete ordinate method (DOM) is used to calculate the infrared transmission characteristics of the aerosol particle cloud.Considering the multi-scattering and self-emission of the particles,the equivalent transmittance ratio (ETR) is suggested to evaluate the infrared transmission characteristics of the aerosol particles.Particular attention is given to analyze the effects of the volume fraction and diameters on infrared transmission characteristics.When the volume fraction is larger than 0.001,the particle diameter has little effect on the infrared transmission characteristics.For the uniform monodisperse particles in the detection waveband range of 3-5 μm and 8-12 μm,there exists a critical diameter where the ETR reaches the minimum value.In addition,the ETR of 3-5 μm is smaller than that of 8-12 μm with the same volume fraction and particle diameter.

Extraction of optical constants and thickness of nanometre scale TiO2 film

TiO2 thin films were deposited on glass substrates by sputtering in a conventional rf magnetron sputtering system. X-ray diffraction pattern and transmission spectrum were measured. The curves of refraction index and extinction coefficient distributions as well as the thickness of films calculated from transmission spectrum were obtained. The optimization problem was also solved using a method based on a constrained nonlinear programming algorithm.

Variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry and its applications in determining optical constants of chalcogenide glasses in infrared

The principle of variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry（VASE） and the data analysis models, as well as the applications of VASE in the characterization of chalcogenide bulk glasses and thin films are reviewed. By going through the literature and summarizing the application scopes of various analysis models, it is found that a combination of various models, rather than any single data analysis model, is ideal to characterize the optical constants of the chalcogenide bulk glasses and thin films over a wider wavelength range. While the reliable optical data in the mid-and far-infrared region are limited, the VASE is flexible and reliable to solve the issues, making it promising to characterize the optical properties of chalcogenide glasses.

Inversion Methods of Optical Constants of Semitransparent Solid Materials from Transmittance Spectrograms

The direct calculation models of spectral transmittance of single and double slabs consisted of semitransparent solid materials were developed based on ray trace method,and a new inversion method of optical constants ( k is extinction coefficient and n is refractive index) of materials was proposed based on transmittance spectrograms of double slabs. Differences between the new method and two others currently used methods were studied,and application range of methods was also investigated. Optical constants of selenide glass attained in references were selected as true values,and spectral transmittances of glass simulated based on direct calculation model were regarded as experimental values. Optical constants of selenide glass were achieved by inverse models. Influences of measurement error on inverse results were also determined. The results showed that: (1) based on transmittance spectrograms of double slabs in which thickness of single slab is the same,the new proposed method can attain optical constants of materials; (2) the effect of optical constants n and k on three inversion methods are urgent larger,but inversed calculation precision of optical constants are higher in most application ranges; (3) the influence of measurement errors existed in experimental datum on the inverse precision of three methods are urgent

CALCULATION OF INFRARED OPTICAL CONSTANTS FOR CO_2 LASER HOLLOW WAVEGUIDE MATERIALS

A simple method was deduced for calculat-ing optical constant, optical loss and transmittance per meter of hollow-core optical fiber using data analysis method, ge-ometerical optical and electromagnetic theory. The method was used to study the Na2O-ZnO-GeO2-SiO2-PbO and Sb2O3 sysem. The glasses have nr<1 region. When the core diameter ao is 0. 5mm, the hollow waveguides of the Sb2O3-containing . glass is predicted with minimum loss of 0. 8 dB/m at 940cm-1

Nickel Antimony Sulphide Thin Films for Solar Cell Application: Study of Optical Constants

Chemical bath deposition technique has been used to deposit Ni-doped Sb2S3 thin films onto glass substrate. Doping was carried out by adding 1, 3 and 5 wt% of Ni. Bath temperature was kept as 10℃ and films were annealed at 250℃ under vacuum. Polycrystalline nature of films with an orthorhombic phase was analyzed by X-ray diffraction technique. Scanning electron microscopy was used for morphological study which shows that grains are spherical. Optical measurements using transmittance data indicated that films have a direct band gap of 1.00 - 2.60 eV with an absorption coefficient of ~104 cm-1 in visible range. The average value of electrical conductivity was calculated as 1.66, 1.11 and 1.06 (Ω·cm)-1 for as-deposited films and 1.90, 2.08 and 1.15 (Ω·cm)-1 for annealed films while refractive indices were found as 2.18 - 3.38 and 1.91 - 3.74 respectively. The obtained films can be used for solar cell applications due to their good absorbing properties like higher absorption coefficient and refractive index values.

Proton radiation effects on optical constants of Al film reflector

The Al film reflectors can yield a high-reflectance over a broad wavelength region, and have been widely used in the spacecraft optical instruments for high quality optical applications. Under the irradiation of charged particles in the Earth radiation belt, the reflectors could be deteriorated. In order to reveal the deterioration mechanism, the change in optical constants of Al film reflector induced by proton radiation with 60 keV was studied in an environment of vacuum with heat sink. Experimental results showed that when the radiation damage primarily occurs in the Al reflecting film, the extinction coefficient k will gradually decrease with increasing radiation fluence, which results in the decrease of the energies of reflective light. Therefore, the proton radiation induced an obvious degradation of spectral reflectance in the wavelength region from 200 to 800nm on the Al film reflector.

Optical constants and their dispersion of Ag-MgF_2 nanoparticle composite films

Ag-MgF_2 composite films with different Ag fractions were prepared through a co-evaporation method. Microstructure analysis shows that the films are composed of amorphous MgF_2 matrix and embedded fcc-Ag nanoparticles. The optical constants and their dispersion of the films, within the wavelength range of 250 - 650 nm, were measured by reflecting spectroscopic ellipsometry. The maximum of the imaginary part ε~″ of the complex dielectric permittivity attributing to the surface plasmon resonance polarization of the Ag nanoparticles in an Ag-MgF_2 film, and the tangent of the phase-shift angle δ resulting from the dielectric loss of the film, occur at λ= 435 nm and λ= 420 nm, respectively. Based on Maxwell-Garnett effective medium theory, the experimentally observed dispersion spectra were reasonably described.

Optical constants of DUV/UV fluoride thin films

High-refractive-index materials LaF3, NdF3, and GdF3 and low-refractive-index materials MgF2, A1F3, and Na3A1F6 single thin films are deposited by a resistive-heating boat at different depositing rates and specific substrate temperatures on single crystal MgF2 substrates. Transmittances of all fluoride thin films are measured using commercial spectrometer in the ambient atmosphere and under vacuum using synchrotron radiation instrument in the wavelength region from 190 to 500 am. The optical constants of these materials are determined by envelope method and iterative algorithm on the basis of transmittance measurements.

Influence of sputtering pressure on optical constants of a-GaAs_(1-x)N_x thin films

Amorphous GaAsl-xNx （a-GaAsl-xNx） thin films have been deposited at room temperature by a reactive magnetron sputtering technique on glass substrates with different sputtering pressures. The thickness, nitrogen content, carrier concentration and transmittance of the aseposited films were determined experimentally. The influence of sputtering pressure on the optical band gap, refractive index and dispersion parameters （Eo, Ed） has been investigated. An analysis of the absorption coefficient revealed a direct optical transition characterizing the asdeposited films. The refractive index dispersions of the as-deposited a-GaAsl-xNx films fitted well to the Cauchy dispersion relation and the Wemple model.

Extraction of optical constants in the terahertz band using material dispersion models

This study proposes a method based on material dispersion models to computationally simulate terahertz(THz)time-domain spectroscopy signals.The proposed method can accurately extract the refractive indices and extinction coefficients of optically thin samples and high-absorption materials in the THz band.This method was successfully used to extract the optical constants of a 470-μm-thick monocrystalline silicon sample and eliminate all errors associated with the Fabry-Perot oscillation.When used to extract the optical constants of a 16.29-mm-thick polycarbonate sample,our method succeeded in minimizing errors caused by the low signal-to-noise ratio in the extracted optical constants.

The effects of post-thermal annealing on the optical parameters of indium-doped ZnO thin films

Indium-doped ZnO thin films are deposited on quartz glass slides by RF magnetron sputtering at ambient temperature. The as-deposited films are annealed at different temperatures from 400℃ to 800 ℃ in air for 1 h. Transmittance spectra are used to determine the optical parameters and the thicknesses of the films before and after annealing using a nonlinear programming method, and the effects of the annealing temperatures on the optical parameters and the thickness are investigated. The optical band gap is determined from the absorption coefficient. The calculated results show that the film thickness and optical parameters both increase first and then decrease with increasing annealing temperature from 400℃ to 800℃. The band gap of the as-deposited ZnO：In thin film is 3.28 eV, and it decreases to 3.17 eV after annealing at 400℃. Then the band gap increases from 3.17 eV to 3.23 eV with increasing annealing temperature from 400℃ to 800℃.

Effect of optical pump on the dielectric properties of SrTiO_3 in terahertz range

Tuning the dielectric permittivity spectra of strontium titanate （SrTiO3） single crystals in an extemal optical field is investigated at room temperature by means of terahertz time-domain spectroscopy. The application of the optical field leads to an appreciable tuning of the permittivity, reaching up to 2.8%, with the dielectric loss changing about 3%. The observed behavior is interpreted in terms of soft-mode hardening due to the anharmonic character of its potential. We also find that the change of the refractive index responds linearly to the applied light power. These findings are attributed to a linear electro-optical effect of the internal space charge field of the crystal.

Common electronic band gaps and similar optical properties of ZnO nanotubes

Electronic and optical properties of single-walled zinc oxide （ZnO） nanotubes are investigated from the firstprinciples calculations. Electronic structure calculations show that ZnO nanotubes are all direct band gap semiconducting nanotubes and the band gaps are relatively insensitive to the diameter and chirality of tubes. The origin of the common electronic band gaps of ZnO nanotubes is explained in terms of band-folding from the two-dimensional band structure of graphite-like sheet. Moreover, the optical properties such as dielectric function and energy loss function spectra of different ZnO nanotubes are very similar, relatively independent of diameter and chirality of tubes. The calculated dielectric function and loss function spectra show a moderate optical anisotropy with respect to light polarization.

Effects of Pb-Doping on Phase Structural and Optical Properties of CdZnS Nano-Powders

Cadmium zinc lead sulfide [Cd0.8（Zn1-x7,Pbx）0.2S] nano-powders were prepared by an improved coprecipitation method. The effect of Pb2＋ concentration at 500℃ on the phase and crystalline structure of the Cd0.8（Zn1-x7,Pbx）0.2S powders were investigated by X-ray diffraction （XRD）. According to the transmission electron microscopy （TEM） images, the particles size are in the range of 58 nm to 72 nm. In addition, optical band gap energy and optical constants of nano-powders were determined using the ultraviolet （UV） spectrum, Fournier transform infrared spectroscopy （FTIR）, and Kramers-Kronig analysis, respectively. We calculate the refractive index n, extinction coefficient k, and dielectric function t as a function of the wavenumber. The experiment results demonstrate that the amount of Pb＋2 has been playing an increasingly important role on optical properties of CZPS nanocrystals.

Optically tuned dielectric characteristics of SrTiO_(3)/Si thin film in the terahertz range

Active control of the optical parameters in strontium titanate(SrTiO_(3),STO)thin films is highly desirable for tunable terahertz(THz)integrated devices such as filters,phase modulators,and electro-optical devices.In this work,optically tuned dielectric parameters of a STO thin film epitaxially grown on a silicon wafer were characterized in the THz region with an 800 nm laser pump-THz detection system.The refractive index,extinction coefficient,and complex dielectric constant of the STO thin film were calculated using thin-film parameter extraction.Owing to carrier transportation and soft-mode oscillation,the above optical parameters changed notably with the pump power of the external laser.This study is of great significance for rapid and non-contact THz phase-modulation technology and may serve as a powerful tool to tune the dielectric properties of the STO thin films.

Pressure-dependent terahertz optical characterization of heptafluoropropane

Heptafluoropropane （HFP）, as the best altemative to halon fire-suppression agents, is now a widely used fire extin- guishing agent. The current studies of HFP, concentrating on the extinguishing mechanisms of flames and decomposition products, in general deal with the destructive and high temperature cases. In this paper, terahertz time-domain spectra are used to characterize HFP at different pressures. Optical parameters of HFP, such as absorption coefficient, refractive index, and relative permittivity, and their relationship with concentration of samples, are discussed. The absorption peak of HFP at 0.3 THz depends strongly on the applied pressure, and the corresponding parameters increase almost linearly with increasing HFP concentration. The present study lays a foundation for future extensive applications.

Microstructure Control of Nanoporous Silica Thin Film Prepared by Sol-gel Process

Nanoporous silica films were prepared by sol-gel process with base, acid and base/acid two-step catalysis.Transmission electron microscope （TEM） and particle size analyzer were used to characterize the microstructure and the particle size distribution of the sols. Scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, atomic force microscopy （AFM） and spectroscopic ellipsometer were used to characterize the surface microstructure and the optical properties of the silica films. Stability of the sols during long-term storage was investigated. Moreover,the dispersion relation of the optical constants of the silica films, and the control of the microstructure and properties of the films by changing the catalysis conditions during sol-gel process were also discussed.