In this paper we propose a new procedure of simultaneous estimation of the effective infrared optical absorption coefficient and the thermal diffusivity of solid state samples using the photothermal infrared radiometry method in the transmission configuration. The proposed procedure relies on the analysis of the frequency dependent signal obtained from the samples covered with thin aluminum foil. This method can be applied for both optically opaque and transparent samples. The proposed method is illustrated with the results of the thermal diffusivity and the effective IR absorption coefficient obtained for several Cd1-xMgxSe crystals. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.