A linear calibration method for scattering semiconductors using the Kubelka-Munk function
Abstract
Absorption spectroscopy of solids is hindered by strong scattering, which violates assumptions underlying the Beer-Lambert (BL) law. Although calibration approaches have been reported for scattering solids, their mechanistic basis in terms of the absorption and scattering coefficients remains unclear, and their applicability to semiconductors has not been well documented. Here, we measured ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectra for nine inorganic semiconductors. From reflectance, we calculated pseudo-absorbance and the Kubelka-Munk function (KMF). The results show that absorbance departs from BL linearity but is well described by an expression derived from KMF with mixture additivity of the coefficients. In contrast, KMF increases linearly with mass fraction within a low-loading regime, and the relation persists across distinct morphologies. Compositions of mixtures recovered from KMF agree closely with preparation values. This work underscores a simple, rapid, and non-destructive calibration strategy for scattering semiconductors that uses KMF as a linear axis for composition.
Related
- ToSCA: Total Scattering Conditioned Variational Autoencoder for Atomic Structure Prediction from Pair Distribution Function Data
- Same Raw Data, Different Numbers: Locked Analysis Rules Make Film Descriptors of Organic Semiconductors Reproducible
- Transient absorption signatures of asymmetric carrier cooling in semiconductors
- Integration of high-κ oxide on 2D semiconductors with carbon-dot monolayer assembly as van der Waals interfacial layer
- Optical Ceiling on Polaron Mobility in Disordered Molecular Semiconductors: Lessons from Eumelanin
BibTeX
@article{zhao2026linear,
title = {{A linear calibration method for scattering semiconductors using the Kubelka-Munk function}},
author = {Siyu Zhao and Laiyu Luo and Fengyu Zhang and Baojiang Jiang and Mietek Jaroniec and Liping Zhang},
journal = {iScience},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.isci.2026.117932},
url = {https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(26)03315-8},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - A linear calibration method for scattering semiconductors using the Kubelka-Munk function
AU - Siyu Zhao
AU - Laiyu Luo
AU - Fengyu Zhang
AU - Baojiang Jiang
AU - Mietek Jaroniec
AU - Liping Zhang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/17
JO - iScience
DO - 10.1016/j.isci.2026.117932
UR - https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(26)03315-8
AB - Absorption spectroscopy of solids is hindered by strong scattering, which violates assumptions underlying the Beer-Lambert (BL) law. Although calibration approaches have been reported for scattering solids, their mechanistic basis in terms of the absorption and scattering coefficients remains unclear, and their applicability to semiconductors has not been well documented. Here, we measured ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectra for nine inorganic semiconductors. From reflectance, we calculated pseudo-absorbance and the Kubelka-Munk function (KMF). The results show that absorbance departs from BL linearity but is well described by an expression derived from KMF with mixture additivity of the coefficients. In contrast, KMF increases linearly with mass fraction within a low-loading regime, and the relation persists across distinct morphologies. Compositions of mixtures recovered from KMF agree closely with preparation values. This work underscores a simple, rapid, and non-destructive calibration strategy for scattering semiconductors that uses KMF as a linear axis for composition.
SN - 2589-0042
ER -