The optical properties of liquid tellurium

Abstract

The optical constants of liquid tellurium at 500 and 600°C have been measured by a reflection method in the spectral range 4000 to 23 000 cm⁻¹ (2•5 to 0•43 microns). The conductivity σ(k) for wave number k is considered as the sum of two terms, σ_c(k) due to intra-band transitions and σ_v(k) due to inter-band transitions. The magnitudes of σ_c and σ_v are estimated by means of a dispersion relation. The values for σ_c are used to estimate the effective density of free carriers and the static conductivity.