Analyzing Optical Reflectance of Semiconductors: An Application to Silicon

The optical parameters of Silicon (Si) were determined from available data of normal reflectance of single crystal silicon measured at 0.01 eV-30 eV range by unpolarized light. Kramers-Kronig Analysis relationship was used to determine the optical parameters from the reflectance data. The results obtained from the KKT analysis was found to be in a satisfactory agreement with the previous results and literatures with little disparity observed for some optical parameters, particularly extinction coefficient, which was as a result of approximation made in extrapolation method used in evaluating reflectance phase shift/angle. From the calculated values of optical parameters by KKT analysis, an overview of electronic band structure of silicon was given particularly from the optical transition strength and absorption edge spectral. The relationship between efficiency of devices made from silicon and its band structures were also established.