Optical Properties of Materials

Abstract

The optical properties of macroscopic materials are described, basing only on classical arguments. Starting from Maxwell’s equations, the propagation of electromagnetic waves in isotropic, linear, and homogeneous materials is treated. To this aim, complex macroscopic quantities as the dielectric function, the optical conductivity, and the refractive index are introduced, together with the dispersion relations that they obey. The reflection and transmission properties at the interface between different materials are analyzed, and the appropriate functions are defined for both unpolarized and polarized light waves, with the addition of the ellipsometric functions that are particularly interesting from the application point of view.