The optical properties and electronic structure of magnesium

The optical constants of a single crystal of magnesium have been measured in the spectral range from 1.1 to 2.2 μm using a polarimetric reflection technique. The results show a strong polarization-dependent absorption peak, centred about 0.71 eV, arising from optical interband transitions. An empirical pseudopotential model has been used to compute the interband absorption and correlate it with available de Haas-van Alphen data. The resulting pseudopotential from factors ( V (10[1 over bar]0) = 0.160 eV, V (0002) = 0.310 eV, V (10[1 over bar]1) = 0.421 eV) are only slightly lower than those calculated by Animalu and Heine in 1965.