Ultraviolet optical properties of Li

Abstract

The reflectances of evaporated films of Li were measured as functions of angle of incidence for photon energies between 3 and 10.7 eV, and were analyzed, by use of Fresnel’s equations, to determine the optical constants n and k for each energy. Above 6 eV, measurements with photons incident on both vacuum and substrate surfaces gave the same values of n and k within experimental limits of about ±5%. Below 6 eV, values of n and k obtained from the analysis were not reproducible; they depend in a complex way on film thickness, light polarization, and surface structure. Failure of the analysis below 6 eV is attributed to surface-roughness effects on the R (θ) curves, which are not accounted for in Fresnel’s equations. These effects are believed to be small above 6 eV. The dielectric function ∊1 and ∊2 and the energy-loss function Im(− 1/∊) were determined from n and k for photon energies above 6 eV. The plasma energy of Li, as determined from the condition ∊1 (ω) = 0, is 6.7 eV; and the plasma loss peak in Im(−1/∊) is centered at 7.1 eV. In contrast to results for the heavy alkali metals K, Rb, and Cs, no evidence was found for an optical-absorption peak in ∊2 in the spectral region above the plasma frequency.