Forouhi–Bloomer model

The Forouhi–Bloomer model is a mathematical formula for the frequency dependence of the complex-valued refractive index. The model can be used to fit the refractive index of amorphous and crystalline semiconductor and dielectric materials at energies near and greater than their optical band gap. The dispersion relation bears the names of Rahim Forouhi and Iris Bloomer, who created the model and interpreted the physical significance of its parameters. The model is aphysical due to its incorrect asymptotic behavior and non-Hermitian character. These shortcomings inspired modified versions of the model as well as development of the Tauc–Lorentz model.

Mathematical formulation

The complex refractive index is given by
where

is the real component of the complex refractive index, commonly called the refractive index,
is the imaginary component of the complex refractive index, commonly called the extinction coefficient,
is the photon energy.

The real and imaginary components of the refractive index are related to one another through the Kramers-Kronig relations. Forouhi and Bloomer derived a formula for for amorphous materials. The formula and complementary Kramers–Kronig integral are given by
where

is the bandgap of the material,
,,, and are fitting parameters,
denotes the Cauchy principal value,
.

,, and are subject to the constraints,,, and. Evaluating the Kramers-Kronig integral,
where

The Forouhi–Bloomer model for crystalline materials is similar to that of amorphous materials. The formulas for and are given by
where all variables are defined similarly to the amorphous case, but with unique values for each value of the summation index. Thus, the model for amorphous materials is a special case of the model for crystalline materials when the sum is over a single term only.