Complex Refractive Index Dispersion of Strong Absorbing Material Determined Using Internal Reflectance Spectra Measurement

Abstract

Complex refractive index dispersion (CRID) of offset inks is an important spectral property that affects the quality of printing. Due to the strong absorption of offset inks, great difficulty exists when measuring their CRID. In this study, a recently proposed apparatus that can detect the internal reflectance spectra was used to measure the CRID of three strong absorbing offset inks (magenta, yellow, and cyan). Both anomalous dispersion curve and extinction coefficient curve were well determined over the spectral range of 400-750 nm. This study experimentally proves that the apparatus and related method are feasible for the CRID measurement of strong absorbing materials and could serve as a powerful measuring tool for optical parameters.