Atomic ratio

The atomic ratio is a measure of the ratio of atoms of one kind to another kind. A closely related concept is the atomic percent, which gives the percentage of one kind of atom relative to the total number of atoms. The molecular equivalents of these concepts are the molar fraction, or molar percent.

Atoms

Mathematically, the atomic percent is
where N_i are the number of atoms of interest and N_tot are the total number of atoms, while the atomic ratio is
For example, the atomic percent of hydrogen in water is, while the atomic ratio of hydrogen to oxygen is.

Isotopes

Another application is in radiochemistry, where this may refer to isotopic ratios or isotopic abundances. Mathematically, the isotopic abundance is
where N_i are the number of atoms of the isotope of interest and N_tot is the total number of atoms, while the atomic ratio is
For example, the isotopic ratio of deuterium to hydrogen in heavy water is roughly .

Doping in laser physics

In laser physics however, the atomic ratio may refer to the doping ratio or the doping fraction.

For example, theoretically, a 100% doping ratio of Yb ': Y'₃Al₅O₁₂ is pure Yb₃Al₅O₁₂.
The doping fraction equals,