Plasmons in semiconductors and insulators: A simple formula

Based on the dielectric function of an excitonic system, a simple model dielectric function is constructed. The high energy zero of this function yields the plasma frequency, and is given by: (hω_x)² = (hω_f)² + E_x² where ω_f is the free electron plasma frequency and E_x the lowest exciton energy. It is argued that this formula is valid for both, Frenkel and Wannier excitons, and comparison is made with experiments on a variety of crystals, ranging from InSb to Ar. In all cases, surprisingly good agreement is found.