Can refractive index of a substance be increased?

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It is possible to create materials with very high refractive indices, particularly near narrow absorption lines. When the absorption line is narrow, the refractive index can significantly increase. Additionally, nonlinear optics allows for tuning the refractive index at one frequency using a laser at another frequency. These methods can lead to refractive indices in the order of hundreds or more. Such advancements open new avenues for optical applications and technologies.
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or is it possible to create a material with very high refractive index(order of 100's or more)
 
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Yes, the index of refraction becomes very high near an absorption line. If the absorption line is very narrow, the index of refraction becomes very high. There are other possibilities as well, e.g. using nonlinear optics the refractive index at one frequency can be tuned by a laser operating at another frequency.
See also
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_light
 
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