Hello,

I think so.

The refractive index (RI) of a material is in general a complex number, corresponding to the change in propagation speed of light through it owing to the dielectric interactions plus the losses caused by the ionic interactions. Hence, structural changes should result in changes in refractive index.

You can check our paper where we have calculated the complex RI of graphene oxide in response to gas. Gas absorption on GO results in changes in the GO film and hence changes in the refractive index.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323346014_Determination_of_dynamic_variations_in_optical_properties_of_graphene_oxide_in_response_to_gas_exposure_based_on_thin-film_interference

Thank you Shawana for the paper. But, I am looking to distinguish between the structural changes and chemical composition changes in my coating while I’m heating at 250degree C, by seeing the changes in Referactive index.

But atleast I realized the change in third digit is also significant in RI.

Yes, these two can be related

I know that for the case of SixNy as thin film there are diferences concerning stoichiometry and role of SixNy as a antireflective coatings for solar cells, therefore the chemistry relates with the refractive index.

We made this correlation in the past using ellipsometry to determine the refractive index and FTIR-Spectroscopy to study the chemistry of the thin film. Check papers on that topic from Birte Dresler et al,, Fraunhofer IWS

Thank you Dr Lopez, sorry to bother but can you direct me to that paper, I can not find yet from Birte´s profile