Far Infrared Studies of Bismuth

The zero-field and magneto-optic studies of bismuth reported here cover a range of frequencies where the plasma effects are large and rapidly changing. It is found that the data lend themselves to an interpretation in terms of classical magneto-plasma theory when anisotropy is taken into account. The contribution of the free carriers to the optical properties can be isolated from the interband transitions and hence the static value of the dielectric constant, ε₀, the number of free electrons per cc, n, and the effective-mass parameters for the electron band can be determined when used in conjunction with the results of cyclotron resonance studies.