Optical Absorption and Fluorescence of Materials

V. I. Gavrilenko, Volodymyr S. Ovechko

Published Sep 20, 2023• 0 citations

Abstract

Methods of optical spectroscopy are widely used to study optical properties of materials. This area includes different methods of both linear and nonlinear optics. This chapter focuses on linear optical absorption and luminescence. It includes extended tutorial part addressing basics of the light emission and absorption mechanisms that will help students and young researchers to better understand the subject. The chapter presents a brief overview of basic physics that governs absorption and luminescence of light in materials. It then presents a classic picture of the optical absorption of materials. In order to make a next step and to get a quantum mechanical picture of light interaction with materials it is instructive to start with the interaction of an electromagnetic wave with an atom. There are three basic processes that are responsible for a formation of atomic spectra, i.e. spontaneous emission, stimulated emission, and absorption.

DOI: 10.1201/9781003256946-4

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