Thin Films
- Thin-Film Interference Color Simulation: Compute optical interference colors generated by single-layer and multi-layer thin films by processing spectral reflectance functions, phase shifts, and wavelength-dependent refractive indices through spectral: Rλ→ XYZ→ CIELAB/CAM16 pipeline.
- Optical Coatings & Nanostructure Appearance: Predict the perceived color of nanoscale coatings—such as dielectric stacks, plasmonic structures, and anti-reflective layers—under different illumination conditions using various chromatic adaptation and color-appearance models.
- Material & Refractive-Index Sensitivity Analysis: Use spectral processing tools to evaluate how variations in film thickness, refractive index, dispersion, or absorption coefficients impact final appearance, enabling precision tuning in nano-fabrication and meta-materials research.
- Metamerism & Illumination Stability Studies: Simulate how nanostructured colors shift under daylight, LEDs, lasers, or broadband sources by applying illuminant transforms, CIE observers, and advanced color-difference formulas (ΔE00, CAM16) for robust evaluation of optical performance.
- Design & Optimization of Structural Colors: Combine spectral modeling, perceptual metrics, and optimization workflows to design bio-inspired structural colors (e.g., butterfly wings, peacock feathers, photonic crystals), validate their visual impact, investigate color shifts, gamuts and inter-relationships.
Below are presented results of the simulation of SiO2 thin films of varying thickness over Si substrate. Figures 1 and 2 shows the color gamut and selected reflection spectra at air/SiO2 film interface while Figure 3 show the colors of thin films simulated at various incident angles [vertical: 0o – 90o] and at varying film thickness [horizontal: 0 – 1000 nm].
These simulations allow researchers and designers to:
- understand thickness-dependent color shifts: Observe how nanometer-scale changes in SiO₂ film thickness produce dramatic hue transitions due to constructive and destructive interference across the visible spectrum.
- visualize angle-dependent interference effects: Compare colors and spectral curves at normal vs. oblique incidence, revealing how viewing geometry alters optical path length and shifts perceived color — a critical factor in coatings, sensors, and nano-optics.
- evaluate material performance under realistic lighting: Simulate spectra and perceived colors under daylight, LED, and monochromatic sources to assess how thin-film structures behave in practical environments and identify illumination-sensitive designs.
- validate optical models and fabrication parameters: Use simulated reflectance curves and color outputs to verify theoretical predictions (Fresnel equations, phase shifts, dispersion models) and compare them against experimental deposition results.
- optimize structural-color designs: Explore combinations of film thickness, refractive index contrast, and layer stacking to engineer vivid structural colors, minimize unwanted iridescence, or tune coatings for photonic, sensing, or anti-reflection applications.
