Temperature-dependent optical properties of monocrystalline CaF2, BaF2, and MgF2

Abstract

CaF2, BaF2, and MgF2 are low-index, infrared-transparent materials that are extensively used in optical systems. Despite their technological importance, a systematic investigation into the temperature dependence of their optical properties is lacking. In this study, spectroscopic ellipsometry was used to obtain the refractive index of monocrystalline CaF2, BaF2, and MgF2 for wavelengths between 220 nm and 1700 nm, and for temperatures between 21 °C and 368 °C. The raw ellipsometric data was fit to a Sellmeier model with temperature-dependent oscillator terms to extract the real part of the refractive index of each material. The refractive index of CaF2 and BaF2 was observed to decrease linearly with increasing temperature, which can be largely attributed to a reduction in the mass density due to thermal expansion. In contrast, the refractive index of MgF2 was found to vary nonlinearly with temperature, which suggests competing effects from the material’s electronic polarizability. The temperature-dependent refractive index data reported here provide a finely-resolved mapping of the thermo-optic coefficient for these three materials, which could inform the development of optical devices operating at elevated or unsteady temperatures.