Applications of the Theory of Optical Spectroscopy to Numerical Simulations

Abstract

A numerical simulation has been developed to extract the optical constants from experimental spectra. In particular, transmission, internal reflection, and external reflection spectra can be simulated for any incident angle, polarization, and sample thickness. The simulation is used here to determine the optical constants of two materials and to illustrate differences in spectral features that arise from variations in experimental conditions. Other potential applications of this method include determining film thicknesses from experimental data, selecting the best spectroscopic technique for a particular sample, and cross-referencing spectroscopic techniques.