A study of the optical joint density-of-states function

Abstract

A self-consistent formula, which corrects a persistent mistake in the literature, has been developed for the optical joint density-of-states (OJDS) function. A way of linking valence- and conduction-bands densities of states to produce an average density or optically linked states function (ADOLS) for comparison with the OJDS function in the case of certain covalent materials has been suggested and successfully applied to existing data on amorphous As. New results on the quantitative OJDS functions of some transition-metal dichalcogenides have also been presented and discussed.