Isosbestic-like point in the polarized reflectance spectra of monoclinic crystals—A quantitative approach

If two overlapping bands originate from transition moments that are perpendicular and lie along the principal axes of the infinity frequency dielectric tensor, an isosbestic-like point (ILP) appears in the overlaid polarized IR reflectance spectra of single crystals. These conditions can also be met in principle in case of the reflectance from the ac-plane of a monoclinic crystal despite of the crystal's low symmetry. In order to determine the transition moment directions, diagonalization of the infinity frequency dielectric tensor should be performed. It is shown that a critical magnitude for the appearance of ILP is the angle of incidence. An increase of this angle leads to a transformation of the ILP to an isosbestic-like region, which eventually vanishes at higher incidence angles. Polarized reflectance spectra of gypsum (CaSO4·2H2O), recorded from the ac crystal face, were used to verify the theoretical results.