Re: Thin Film Software Color Calculations


"SuttonHoo" <Keith.James.Burrows@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1139600148.189418.98640@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hello all,

I work for a residential window manufacturer and I'm not by any means
an optical engineer (materials and process deveopment), but given the
industry I'm in it helps to try to understand the field as best as
possible.

I have some experience using different thin film software packages
(McLeod, TFcalc, and a little FilmStar) but I've always found the color
calculations to be very inaccurate for predicting actual color. Has
anyone had any similar problems? I have previously used the material
indices provided with the software, is it just an issue of getting
better n&k numbers for the layers made under our conditons?

Thanks for any advice.

Keith

Keith,

The calculations are most likely correct. Your manufacture of the thin-films
may be in error, though. There is much more to making a coating than just
computing what the results should be. N & K values are NEVER what is
published. They can vary considerably from machine to machine. If you run a
spectral scan, you'll probably find that your coating is not performing
spectrally as expected. Thus, the color won't be what you expected.

The calculations for color are pretty straightforward. However, you must
also consider the color temperature of the illuminating source that is used
to view your window coating.

Take Care


.

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