This practical guide to spectroscopy and inorganic materials meets the demand from academia and the science community for an introductory text that introduces the different optical spectroscopic techniques, used in many laboratories, for material characterisation. Treats the most basic aspects to be introduced into the field of optical spectroscopy of inorganic materials, enabling a student to interpret simple optical (absorption, reflectivity, emission and scattering) spectra Contains simple, illustrative examples and solved exercises Covers the theory, instrumentation and applications of spectroscopy for the characterisation of inorganic materials, including lasers, phosphors and optical materials such as photonics This is an ideal beginner’s guide for students with some previous knowledge in quantum mechanics and optics, as well as a reference source for professionals or researchers in materials science, especially the growing field of optical materials.

This practical guide to spectroscopy and inorganic materials meets the demand from academia and the science community for an introductory text that introduces the different optical spectroscopic techniques, used in many laboratories, for material characterisation. Treats the most basic aspects to be introduced into the field of optical spectroscopy of inorganic materials, enabling a student to interpret simple optical (absorption, reflectivity, emission and scattering) spectra Contains simple, illustrative examples and solved exercises Covers the theory, instrumentation and applications of spectroscopy for the characterisation of inorganic materials, including lasers, phosphors and optical materials such as photonics This is an ideal beginner’s guide for students with some previous knowledge in quantum mechanics and optics, as well as a reference source for professionals or researchers in materials science, especially the growing field of optical materials.

This text describes the technique of optical spectroscopy applied to problems in condensed matter physics. It relates theoretical understanding to experimental measurement, including discussion of the optical spectroscopy of inorganic insulators, with many illustrative examples. Symmetry arguments are developed from a formal group theoretical basis and are frequently used, and a special effort is made to treat the subject of lattice vibrations and to show how these can affect the spectroscopic properties of solids. The elements of laser theory are developed, and the authors also explore the use of optically detected magnetic resonance techniques for the investigation of semiconducting materials.

The electromagnetic theory of Maxwell and the electron theory of Lorentz and Drude stimulated a great deal of experimental work on the optical properties of solids in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The time was not then ripe, however, for general progress in this field. The experimental techniques were not available to produce suitable specimens for optical measurements with well defined structure and purity. On the theoretical side, the classical electron theory provided only a very incomplete account of the interaction of light waves with matter. The centre of interest in optical research moved to atomic and molecular spectroscopy where quantitative results were easier to obtain. The quantum theory, starting with Bohr's theory of 1913, provided a highly successful basis for the interpretation of the optical spectra of atoms and molecules. The present-day theory of the optical properties of solids is based on the quantum theory of electrons in solids, developed from the early researches of Sommerfeld and Bloch, and the theory of lattice vibrations originating in the research by Born. The formal con nection between optical absorption and electron wave functions in solids has been well known since the 1930s but it is only recently that electron energy band calculations have achieved sufficient accuracy to make profitable a comparison of experimental and theoretical results. Without some guidance from a theoretical band structure calculation, it would be difficult to make any progress with the in terpretation of an optical absorption spectrum.

This text describes the technique of optical spectroscopy applied to problems in condensed matter physics. It relates theoretical understanding to experimental measurement, including discussion of the optical spectroscopy of inorganic insulators, with many illustrative examples. Symmetry arguments are developed from a formal group theoretical basis and are frequently used, and a special effort is made to treat the subject of lattice vibrations and to show how these can affect the spectroscopic properties of solids. The elements of laser theory are developed, and the authors also explore the use of optically detected magnetic resonance techniques for the investigation of semiconducting materials.

Topics in this volume include: fundamentals of photoluminescence; photoluminesence of insulator materials; photoluminescence of semiconductor materials; and photoluminescence of colour centres.