OptiLayer Thin Film Software

Years:

2008, v7.21

2007, v6.67

2007, v6.11

2006, v5.82

2006, v5.49

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

What's new in OptiLayer in 2008 (major updates, version 7.21)

Powerful design options of OptiLayer (Needle optimization, Gradual evolution) have been further perfected.

In case of the most complicated design problems with many dozens of design layers some undesirable computational deadlocks happened on rare occasions. Such deadlocks are prevented in the new version and solving of the most complicated design problems can be accomplished even by a designer with a small computational experience.

On-line presentation capabilities and interface options of OptiLayer design modes were further improved following user's suggestions. In particular, Active, Quiet and Silent modes were introduced to graphically illustrate progresses of the Needle optimization and Gradual evolution procedures. In the Active mode screen updates occur often, in the Silent modes screen updates are performed from time to time, and only Evaluation window is displayed in a course of synthesis procedure. The Quiet mode displays new results in the Evaluation window only after each new gradual evolution step, the background of the Evaluation window is grayed in order to underline that screen updates are rare.

More logical default settings were introduced in the Gradual evolution mode of the program. Now only Active and Exclusionary materials are indicated in the list of materials selected by this mode.

Thin Layer Removal option now takes into account statuses of design layers. It doesn't affect layers with fixed statuses.

Access to the selection of OptiLayer optimization routines is now provided also from the General Information window by a right mouse click in the Refinement field of this window.

A new field "Needle Sensitivity" is introduced in the Synthesis Options of OptiLayer. This field allows the user to choose between three types of criteria (Relaxed, Standard, and Strict) for terminating needle insertions in the Needle optimization and Gradual evolution procedures. With the Relaxed choice insertions are terminated earlier and with the Strict choice insertions are terminated later than in other situations.

Multiple updates have been made to extend potentialities of all OptiLayer evaluation and design modes.

The maximum number of angle of incidence values that can be used by OptiLayer software was increased to 4096 from 99.

To extend user's choices in evaluating spectral characteristics an opportunity to use the so-called Diabatic scale has been added to the T, R axis of OptiLayer Evaluation windows. This new option can be accessed through the Options->Axis item in the right-click menus of Evaluation windows. The formula for presenting Y-axis values in this scale is as follows: Y = 1 - log10(-log10(T)), i.e. the new scale is a double-logarithmic scale. An advantage of using the new scale is connected with an opportunity to provide a more detailed representation of spectral characteristics in the ranges where T is close to 0 or 1 as well as with a possibility to use almost homogeneous scale in the T range of 0.2-0.8. Plot Engine mode of OptiLayer and Plot Engine stand-alone mode also support the new Diabatic scale.

The list of spectral units that can be used by OptiLayer software was essentially extended. Along with the previously used units it is now possible to use also µm-1, THz, GHz, and g-number which is defined as a ratio of a current wavelength value to the reference wavelength value. The later is specified in the Reference Wavelength field in the Thickness units tab of the Configuration options.

To further extend the orientation of OptiLayer software to practical needs, multiple improvements have been done in OptiLayer error analysis modes.

User-defined targets (UDT) were added to the list of characteristics that can be used by the Error Analysis, Layers Inhomogeneity, Systematic Deviations, and Interface Layers modes of OptiLayer.

Psi and Delta ellipsometric angles also can be used in these modes as well as in the Tabulate command in order to estimate an influence of various factors on ellipsometric measurements.

When presenting final results of the Error Analysis mode, the Error Analysis window now displays also the E(dMF) value which is calculated as a mathematical expectation of deviations of perturbed spectral characteristics form a theoretical ones when an ensemble of designs with random errors is generated. Deviations of spectral characteristics are calculated using the same merit function as was specified for the examined theoretical design.

Layer Sensitivity mode of OptiLayer has become much more flexible and powerful than before. It is now possible to specify levels of relative or absolute errors in thicknesses of layers of different materials for this type of error analysis. Layer Sensitivity chart window displays merit function deviation corresponding to a layer with maximum (100%) sensitivity. This new feature allows the user to compare multiple theoretical designs in order to select the most practical one.

Surface Roughness option of OptiLayer was extended so as to allow the user to perform roughness analysis in the case of designs with absorbing layer materials.

Opportunities of unique computational manufacturing options of OptiLayer have been further extended.
Now it is possible to simulate deposition processes that employ mixed monitoring strategies in which some layers are deposited using optical monitoring while other layers are deposited using quartz crystal monitoring or monitoring by time. The user can specify levels of thickness errors for those layers that are deposited using quartz crystal or time monitoring. For layers deposited using optical monitoring all major factors responsible for production errors can be simulated.

Essential improvements and additions were made in Export and Import options of all programs of OptiLayer software family.

The list of OptiLayer export options has been extended by adding export to the Light Tools illumination software package (Optical Research Associates, see http://www.opticalres.com).

It is now possible to import all Perkin Elmer spectrophotometric files including all types of binary format files and ASCII format files.

Import of compressed JCAMP-DX files and multi-block JCAMP-DX files is also supported.

Import of files of all major types (Varian, Perkin Elmer, Woollam, JCAMP-DX, X,Y files) has become much more flexile than before. During import operations it is now possible to select between Append, Overwrite and Overwrite current page options.

Several new features are aimed at extending presentation capabilities of various programs of OptiLayer software family.

In OptiLayer the "Thickness" tab is added to the Refractive Index Profile window. Using this tab the user can represent design layer thicknesses in a bar diagram form. Optical or physical thickness representations are chosen according to the Configuration menu settings.

In the Status bar of the Evaluation window of OptiLayer more information is now provided. Layer material abbreviation, layer number and layer thickness of a current layer are indicated when a mouse pointer is moving over a design bar.

In OptiRE the "Normalize Errors" button is added to the Thickness Errors window. Using this button one can represent thickness errors in the form of a sum of systematic and random components. The representation is performed so that an average level of random errors is equal to zero.

OptiLayer catalogs of substrate data files have been updated based on the most recent data from all major manufacturers.

Schott Glass, Ohara, Hoya catalogs have been updated according to the most recent information available.

Sumita Glass catalog has been added to the OptiLayer Catalog directory.

Substrate data files include information on substrate extinction coefficients that are calculated based on internal transmittance data.

Layer Material Catalog has been added to all OptiLayer modules.
92 files collected from different publications are currently in Layer Material database. Some of layer materials (for example, TiO2) have optical properties very dependent on deposition conditions and other factors. In any case we recommend to perform layer characterization with OptiChar instead of using Layer Material catalog data.

Recently introduced convenient features of OptiLayer software are automatically generated comments associated with Save commands of OptiLayer software family.
These comments have become more informative in the new version. In particular, the information about used target and color target is now automatically provided when a design is saved in OptiLayer, the information about used measurement data file is automatically generated when layer model is saved in OptiChar and OptiRE and when design structure is saved in OptiRE.

Capabilities of the OptiChar Characterization mode have been essentially extended.

Before it was possible to determine substrate extinction coefficient only if both transmittance and reflectance measurement data were available for the spectral range of interest. It is now possible to perform a search for substrate extinction coefficient in the absence of reflectance measurement data when transmittance data for several different angles of incidence are available. This innovation is essential for substrate characterization in situations when substrate reflectance cannot be measured reliably.

Another improvement was introduced for thin film characterization based on ellipsometric data. It is now possible to activate HW, QW, and IW spectral points in the Data Fitting window using the right click menu of this window. Investigation of ellipsometric data at these points provides information about the presence of thin film bulk and surface inhomogeneity.

Measurement correction options in Characterization and Refinement menu items of OptiChar are now hidden by default. They can be displayed in respective dialogs either by using a special check in the Options dialog of the Characterization menu or by using a button at the bottoms of Characterization and Refinement dialog windows.

Reverse engineering capabilities of OptiRE module of OptiLayer software have been further extended and perfected.

A reliability of the global minimum search in the Systematic Shift option was essentially increased due to the implementation of a more sophisticated search procedure in the case of wide search areas.

Analogous improvements were introduced in the Systematic Errors option.

In the Arrange Materials option of OptiRE a new button "From OptiLayer" has been added. This button enables arranging layer material abbreviations in OptiRE in the same way as it was done in OptiLayer program.

Measurement correction options in the menu items of the Solve menu of OptiRE are now hidden by default. They can be displayed in respective dialogs either by using a setting in the Options dialog of the Solve menu or by using a button at the bottoms of Solve menu dialog windows.

A new unique feature of OptiLayer software is Automation.
This feature is now implemented in the OptiRE module of OptiLayer software and it allows using OptiRE from external control software in a user-specified way. In the new version more OptiRE functions are added to the Automation interface. It is now possible to perform Normalization of Thickness Errors, to evaluate spectral characteristics taking into account current RE model, to set initial correction factors, to load materials from Layer Material database and to specify material abbreviations.

New features of editing and printing options make using OptiLayer even more convenient.

The Color Printing option is active by default in the new version because color printers are widely used now.

A full revision of the OptiLayer Target editor has been performed in order to provide the most reliable and fast switching between the Angular and Spectral modes of OptiLayer in cases of large numbers of spectral points and angle of incidence values.

Delete buttons are added to Angles/Pages and Wavelength/Pages editors to make respective editing operations more flexible.

The improved Copy/Paste operations automatically convert numerical data to the Decimal Separator mode used by Windows programs. This guarantees reliable Copy/Paste operations at computers using comma as a decimal separator.

A new powerful feature Generator is introduced in the Target editor. This feature allows the user to specify spectral targets consisting of a series of linear functions in extremely effective way.

A specialized version of target generator aimed at ultra-fast applications has been added. It can be invoked with "GD/GDD" button of the Target Editor.

New interface features have been introduced in all programs of OptiLayer software family in order to maintain the most convenient and up-to-date level of their interfaces.

The Recent Problems menu item is added to the Files menus of all programs in order to provide a fast access to previously used Problem Directories.

The Delete and Clone operations are added to the Problem Directory dialog box. These operations allow direct managing of OptiLayer Problem directories without using of Windows Explorer.

Users are now able to use Network names as names of OptiLayer Root Directories. To activate this feature it is necessary to expand the group Network in the Browse dialog of the Problem directory window.

Improved resizing of windows has been introduced in the new version. Now windows snap to edges of nearby windows also during resizing operations and not only during moving of windows as before.

New versions of all three programs provide an improved management of locations of exported and imported files. OptiLayer software remembers a specified location if it is different from a current Problem directory. This location is automatically specified when the same type of export or import operations is invoked again. OptiLayer treats a current Problem directory as a default location and doesn't store it. When Problem directory is changed OptiLayer uses a new one as a new default storage location.

Auto update feature implemented in all three programs of OptiLayer Thin Film Software.
Auto update option is located in the Help submenu and is enabled by default. If Internet connection is available and current firewall settings allow to contact OptiLayer web site, OptiLayer programs will check for available updates once a month. If an update is available, the user will be informed what versions are released and whether new passwords are required. Optionally new update can be downloaded to the Desktop directly by OptiLayer programs. If necessary, auto update feature can be disabled.

To the top of page

What's new in OptiLayer in 2007 (major updates, version 6.67)

Unique design options of OptiLayer software have been further improved.

Chart tab was added to the History window reflecting results of various OptiLayer design procedures. This tab allows the user to observe evolutions of main design parameters (merit function value, number of design layers, design total optical thickness) in a graphical form. Such graphical presentations are useful for choosing practically optimal combination of main design parameters among a series of designs generated by one of the OptiLayer design modes.

Chart tab was also added to the Collection window presenting results of Random optimization mode, a powerful non-local optimization procedure of OptiLayer.

Silent mode of OptiLayer design options has been updated. To provide a more effective expenditure of computer time this mode uses less screen updates than before but at the same time provides much more informative screen updates.

New options have been introduced in the Gradual Evolution mode. They allow the user to specify a value of the merit function relative decrease and a number of subsequent needle optimization steps with merit function decreases below this value that cause a transition to the next step of the gradual evolution procedure.

It is now possible to proceed with the gradual evolution procedure starting with the needle optimization step (the corresponding checkbox is named "Start with Needle Optimization step"). This option can be useful in the case of complicated design problems when computations have been interrupted and the user wants to resume them after a while.

A new automatic version of the Thin Layer Removal procedure has been introduced. This new option further increases OptiLayer capabilities in improving design feasibility.

Spline interpolation can be now selected and used for calculating refractive index and extinction coefficient values between spectral points where these material parameters are specified. This option is especially important for accurate calculations of rapidly oscillating spectral characteristics, for example group delay (GD) and group delay dispersion (GDD) characteristics. It also contributes to unprecedented computational capabilities of OptiLayer in solving design problems with GD and GDD targets. Spline interpolation has been also introduced in OptiChar and OptiRE to raise accuracy and speed of computations.

A set of pre-production error analysis and computational manufacturing options of OptiLayer provides the user with powerful tools for studying optical coating manufacturability. Essential improvements have been introduced in these options.

Pre-production error analysis and manufacturing simulation in the case of monochromatic optical monitoring are now more user-friendly. In the case when these options are called for a design without a monitoring spreadsheet attached to this design, the user is proposed to open a dialog for creating a monitoring spreadsheet.

The computational manufacturing option with broadband optical monitoring has been additionally accelerated and computational manufacturing experiments can be run hundreds of times faster than real production experiments.

In the computational manufacturing option with broadband optical monitoring a manual control of layer deposition termination instants has been implemented. This option can be used for training technicians operating deposition plants with broadband optical monitoring.

Graphical opportunities of all computational manufacturing options have been improved and at the last pages of computational manufacturing dialogs the user can choose the "Adjust band..." button to control x-axis limits and to examine results of computational manufacturing experiments in various spectral bands.

The list of OptiLayer export options has been essentially extended and it covers several new widely known software packages:

Export to ZEMAX (see http://www.zemax.com) option has been implemented. This option consists of 3 dialogs including a general management of ZEMAX Coating files, Dialog with Settings for Thickness export, and Dialog with Settings for Performance table export,

Export to Code V Sequence files (*.seq files) (see http://www.opticalres.com) is now available,

Export to FRED optical system modeling package (see http://www.photonengr.com) (*.frt files),

export to OpTaliX (see http://www.optenso.com) multilayer file format (*.otc files),

export to OPTIS SPEOS professional light rendering software package (see http://www.optis-world.com).

To meet various user demands and to enhance users opportunities in the analysis of optical coating for modern applications multiple improvements have been made in many Analysis options of OptiLayer.

Admittance and Electrical Field options of OptiLayer provide now a full support of the angular mode of this program. In the angular mode one can use slider controls of incident angle to analyze admittance and electrical filed distribution inside a coating at various incidence angles. Fast switching between spectral and angular modes of the program is possible with the right-click local menus.

In the case of oblique light incidence both Admittance and Field options of OptiLayer allow presenting electrical field distributions simultaneously for the s- and p-polarized light.

Digitize function that can be used in several OptiLayer analysis modes is more persistent now. Switching between various analysis windows doesn't close the sub-window of the Digitize function. Using the right click menus it is possible to open several different Digitize functions that will be used in different analysis windows.

The ability to introduce in chart windows several user-defined plots corresponding to a specified user-defined target (UDT) is added. This feature is useful, for example, when it is necessary to observe spectral wavelength dependencies corresponding to a specified UDT at several incidence angles.

OptiLayer catalogs of substrate data files have been essentially extended. Now they include Hoya and Ohara glasses as well as data files with optical parameters of the most essential metals according to the data presented in Palik's handbook. These catalogs can be accessed from all programs of the OptiLayer software family using the Catalog options in the File menus. New multi-select options allows to select a subset of files that should be transferred to the working directory. A drop down database list allows the user to limit his choice to data files of only one specific collection (Schott, Hoya, etc.).

Graphical capabilities of all OptiLayer programs have been further improved.

Chart zooming can be performed with the left mouse button while panning (adjusting of a plot inside a chart window) can be performed using the right mouse button.

Exporting of chart windows to new formats has been implemented. New formats include PDF, PostScript, XML. In the Export Dialog of the Chart Export option the user can find a variety of picture and data formats covering all widely used formats.

Because of the increased power of modern personal computers the HiRes option (high resolution plotting of graphs) in the Evaluation and Analysis windows is now True by default.

Following multiple suggestions of the OptiLayer users the role of comments in all programs of OptiLayer software family has been increased.

The Save Design operation in OptiLayer has now additional settings Append N, Append MF and Append TOT. These settings allow the user to automatically append information about number of design layers, merit function value, and design total optical thickness to a design name. Information about these parameters and about specific materials assigned to design material abbreviations is included in the Comment field.

In OptiChar when thin film optical parameters are saved to the Layer Materials database or a layer model is saved to the Layer Model database respective comments are automatically generated. These comments include information about a thin film model used by the OptiChar characterization procedure, a thin film thickness found in the course of characterization, and parameters related to surface roughness and bulk inhomogeneity if these effects were taken into account by a thin film model.

Analogous comments are automatically created by OptiRE when OptiRE models or data files are saved to respective databases.

Comments to a Problem directory as a whole can be also entered. Comments are displayed at the Problem Directory dialog and can be of unlimited size.

In the View menus of OptiChar and OptiRE new "Partial Discrepancies" windows have been introduced. These windows allow the user to perform a detailed analysis of discrepancies between model and measurement data. In OptiChar HW, QW, IW spectral points that are useful for studying film inhomogeneity can be displayed at the Partial Discrepancies window. To support a Multi-Scan mode of OptiRE a new "Scan Discrepancies" window has been added. In the Multi-Scan mode when measurement data files for many coating layers are analyzed simultaneously this window allows the user to examine partial values of discrepancy function components estimating closeness between model and measurement data for separate layers.

Unique reverse engineering capabilities of OptiRE module of OptiLayer software have been further extended. OptiRE is the only thin film software that can analyze traces of recorded monochromatic monitoring data in order to extract information about optical thicknesses of actually deposited coating layers. Monitoring signal can be transmittance or reflectance and for each coating layer it is required to know a signal at a start of a layer deposition, signal extrema values recorded during a layer deposition, and a signal at termination instant. These data are stored in data files of a special Response database. The Response Processing option in the Solve menu allows determining optical thicknesses of those coating layers for which at least one signal extremum was registered during layer depositions. The algorithm used by this unique option is described in:

A. V. Tikhonravov and M. K. Trubetskov, "Elimination of cumulative effect of thickness errors in monochromatic monitoring of optical coating production: theory," Appl. Opt. 46, 2084-2090 (2007).
http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=ao-46-11-2084.

A. V. Tikhonravov, M. K. Trubetskov, M. A. Kokarev, and S. Thony, "Reverse Engineering of Fabricated Coatings Using Off-Line and On-Line Photometric Data," in Optical Interference Coatings, OSA Technical Digest (CD) (Optical Society of America, 2007), paper WA3.
http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=OIC-2007-WA3.

OptiLayer is the only thin film software supporting Automation, a new advanced feature that allows using thin film software from external control software in a user-specified way. Currently this feature is developed for OptiRE and this module of OptiLayer software can be used for automating of coating production. In the new version the Automation interface has been extended. It has become possible to save any window in various bitmap formats programmatically. It is also possible to control OptiRE Options and some axis settings of the Fitting Window (axis limits, visibility, titles). The Discrepancy read-only property has been added to the interface. This property allows reading a discrepancy value that was obtained in the frame of specified reverse engineering model. Negative discrepancy values are supplied in situations when model discrepancy value can not be calculated for some reason (incomplete model has been specified, not all data have been loaded, etc.).

For user convenience many new features have been introduced in editing options and data file specifications. The Column Editor allows now generation of incrementing or decrementing sequences of letters, like A, B, C, D, etc. Data file names can have up to 128 characters (before a length of a name was limited by 64 characters). A new Summary window has been added to the Design Editor. This window is opened pressing the button at the bottom of the Design Editor. It presents information about total thickness of all coating layers and about total thicknesses of all layers of each particular material used in a design. In OptiChar more informative names for layer materials are used. In the case when a layer material file has been loaded before starting a characterization procedure the name of a loaded file is used to name results of a characterization procedure. In the previous versions the name was changed to "Calculated" as soon as computations started. In OptiRE more information is reflected in the General information window (information related to inhomogeneous models).

To maintain the highest level of software interface that is one of the distinguishing features of OptiLayer software family new interface options have been introduced in all modules of OptiLayer software. The algorithm for window positioning at the screen has been further improved. Now a new window is placed at the screen without overlapping with already available windows if this is still possible. The "Auto Tile Windows" command has been added to the Windows menu. It allows the user to arrange windows automatically in a tiled manner. Problem Directory dialog and Select Directory dialog of the File Transfer option have been updated and are now resizable. This is convenient for users working with large numbers of problem directories. The mouse pointer display has been essentially improved in order to reflect a current state of the program (such as idle, computing, busy). Keyboard shortcuts have been revised and improved. Now it is possible to use Ctrl+Enter key as a shortcut to the OK button at modeless dialogs, Alt+Enter key can be used as a shortcut to the Apply button in the windows where this button exists. In OptiRE a keyboard navigation has been added to the Multi-Scan Fitting window. Now Left/Right arrows allow to move from a current layer to a previous/next one. PhUp and PgDown keys change a current selection for 5 layers to the left and right. Home and End keys allow selecting first and last layers respectively.

Hardware protection of OptiLayer, OptiChar, and OptiRE is more user-friendly now. Detaching of a dongle doesn't cause immediate program termination. The user is asked to attach a hardware key. When the key is attached the operation of the program is resumed without loss of information. This new feature is especially convenient for notebook users. Transportation of a notebook usually requires detaching of a key and it is easy to forget to attach it back when starting a notebook at a new location. Now the loss of a program state and related information in such situations is impossible.

To the top of page

What's new in OptiLayer in 2007 (major updates, version 6.11)

One of the major trends in the development of OptiLayer software is supplementing its unique design capabilities with a number of special options aimed at the most successful practical implementation of theoretical designs. OptiLayer is the first thin film software that allows the user to automatically generate monitoring spreadsheets for several monochromatic monitoring strategies. One of these strategies is a famous strategy based on the choice of the most sensitive monitoring wavelength. Another one is a quite new strategy aimed at minimizing a cumulative effect of errors in previously deposited layers. It was proposed in the recently published paper Statistical approach to choosing a strategy of monochromatic monitoring of optical coating production (Applied Optics, Vol.45, pp.7863-7870, 2006) by A. Tikhonravov, M. Trubetskov, and T. Amochkina. One more strategy allows an optical coating engineer to combine the main advantages of direct and indirect optical monitoring. It explores a new termination level correction algorithm providing an entirely independent control of all coating layers when direct optical monitoring is applied. This new algorithm was proposed in the paper Elimination of cumulative effect of thickness errors in monochromatic monitoring of optical coating production (Applied Optics, Vol.46, pp.2084-2090, 2007) by A. Tikhonravov and M. Trubetskov.

Computational manufacturing is a powerful tool for studying optical coating manufacturability. OptiLayer is the only thin film software that allows the user to perform computational manufacturing experiments with the most adequate simulation of a real production environment. In the new version of OptiLayer software a coating production with monochromatic optical monitoring can be simulated. The option simulating coating production with broadband optical monitoring has been essentially improved. OptiLayer can simulate instability of deposition rates of optical coating materials, fluctuations of refractive indices of coating layers inside a deposition chamber from their theoretical values, bulk inhomogeneity of coating layers, time delays of a shutter terminating layer depositions, etc. An optical coating engineer can specify levels of random errors in measured reflectance and transmittance data, large scale fluctuations of measurement data in time, calibration drifts of monitoring devices, etc.

Analysis and synthesis options of the new OptiLayer version can be used for various X-ray applications. This ability is provided due to multiple modifications including the increase of numbers of digits in wavelength entry fields, possibility to specify lower limits than before for wavelength spectral regions, introduction of new units (keV units) for specifying spectral regions, etc.

OptiLayer options aimed at improving design manufacturability are further developed. These options include now a new automated Thin Layer Removal mode. It enables the user to automatically remove all thin layers from a coating design at an expense of allowed increase of merit function value or optionally all layers with thicknesses lower than a specified threshold thickness value.

Plot Engine, a special presentation module of OptiLayer software, has been redesigned and a new much more powerful charting tool Plot Engine II has been introduced. At the same time a complete backward comparability of the user interface and file formats is provided. The new Plot Engine option has two modes, Old style and New style plotting modes. In the Old style mode this option uses exactly the same charting approaches as in all previous OptiLayer versions. In the New style mode much more diverse plotting capabilities are accessible.

Taking into account a growing importance of coatings for ultra-short pulse applications and telecommunication applications new and quite unique options have been introduced in OptiRE, the reverse engineering module of OptiLayer software. These options allow an optical coating engineer to process group delay (GD) and group delay dispersion (GDD) measurement data and to apply all reverse engineering modes of OptiRE. An ability to analyze GD and GDD data has been introduced also in OptiChar, the optical characterization module of OptiLayer software.

For user convenience some databases and corresponding menu items have been reorganized. Common databases Substrate and Incident Medium, Design and BS Coating are now represented as single databases. In connection with this reorganization the Load button has now additional functions when necessary. Additional functions are also present at the right-click menu of the Database dialog. A new Exit medium functionality has been added to OptiLayer. Now it is possible to specify the Exit medium at the substrate back side different from the Incident medium. This function can be found as an additional option of the Load button in the Substrate/Incident/Exit Database or in the corresponding right-click menu.

A new functionality has been added to editor dialogs. It is now possible to edit almost any numerical data field using mouse and spinner controls. This simplifies editing data in situations when a step-by-step variation of numerical data is desirable or when the keyboard is temporarily unavailable. Substrate extinction coefficient can be now expressed and edited in terms of Internal Transmittance or Optical Density values. A special combo-box at the header of the respective spreadsheet allows the user to select a desired representation.

OptiLayer interface features are permanently perfected. OptiLayer provides a multi-monitor support which means that the user can simultaneously use several monitors and distribute desktop windows between these monitors. In the new OptiLayer version coordinates of all windows are saved and correctly restored in a multi-monitor layout. A new feature provides an automatic snapping of windows which allows the user to arrange windows at the desktop much easier than before.

Multiple improvements have been introduced in Import and Export options of all modules of OptiLayer. The File Transfer option supports now a simultaneous transfer of multiple data files. It is possible to select several files with a mouse using Ctrl shift in the Data Transfer dialog and transfer these files to a current Problem directory in one mouse click. A possibility to import any type of reflectance from a coating back side has been added to the list of possible choices in the Varian import option. The X, Y data and JCAMP-DX import windows are now resizable. The list of windows is also resizable. Graphical export options support a new TIFF graphics format (TIFF - Tagged Image File Format). A new Multi-Scan import option of OptiRE allows the user to load multiple scans of measurement data from the Measurements database or from external X, Y files in one operation.

In OptiChar characterization module of OptiLayer software new models for the film refractive index and extinction coefficient (n(lambda) and k(lambda) models) were essentially improved and made much more flexible than in the previous OptiChar version. These models which do not require parameterization of complicated refractive index and extinction coefficient wavelength dependencies can be now applied in wide spectral regions from UV to IR spectral bands. It is achieved by additional options allowing to specify the number of grid points to be used in these models.

All modules of OptiLayer software support Windows Vista. OptiLayer automatically detects Vista and stores data in accordance with Vista requirements. The files storage style is changed from "c:\Program Files\OptiLayer" to "C:\Users\Public\Documents\OptiLayer." For Windows Vista comparability Help system is converted to CHM format.

In the new versions of all three modules OptiLayer, OptiChar, and OptiRE numerous improvements have been made to improve the hardware effectiveness. In particular, the improved performance has been achieved for computers with AMD processors supporting SSE3 instructions set. The computational speed has been increased up to 20%. For notebook computers a better power management has been provided. It is safe now to close a lid or to set a standby mode with OptiLayer programs running. A startup time of all programs has been improved because unnecessary network search for dongles has been disabled and now it is performed only if a local key is not available.

To the top of page

What's new in OptiLayer in 2006 (major updates, version 5.82)

The efficiency of the OptiLayer needle optimization procedure was further improved due to the extended sensitivity to the insertions of very thin "needle" layers. This enables much more effective optimization of complicated optical coatings with large numbers of layers.

Rugate Synthesis option is a new OptiLayer feature. This option uses a sophisticated mathematical algorithm that doesn't require any preliminary assumption about the shape of the refractive index profile. A special user-friendly slider control enables the user to control a smoothness of the refractive index profile.

All analysis and synthesis options of OptiLayer allow now considering cone angle light incidence. This new feature is called Cone Angle averaging. Accordingly a new database specifying intensity distribution of cone light beams was added. Convenient editing options of this database allow the user to specify arbitrary types of incident light beams.

A wide set of OptiLayer pre-production error analysis options was supplemented by two new unique options. These are Broadband monitoring pre-production error analysis option and Monochromatic monitoring pre-production error analysis option. These options enable the user to estimate production errors associated with various broadband and monochromatic optical monitoring approaches. A theory behind these options is quite new and can be found in the papers "Investigation of the effect of accumulation of thickness errors in optical coating production by broadband optical monitoring" (Applied Optics, Vol.45, pp. 7026-7034, September 2006) and "Statistical approach to choosing a strategy of monochromatic monitoring of optical coating production" (Applied Optics, Vol.45, October, 2006) by A.Tikhonravov, M.Trubetskov, and T.Amotchkina.

Capabilities of Plot Engine, a special presentation module of OptiLayer software, were further extended.

Coating coordinate was added to the list of independent axis types. This new variable helps to investigate dependencies of values versus thickness changing along whole the coating.

Electric Field was added to the list of characteristics that can be plotted using various types of 2D and 3D presentations. Coating Coordinate should be selected as one of the independent axis. These plots are especially useful for investigation of chirp mirrors and other ultrafast coatings.

Color Characteristics were added to the list of possible selections of investigated values. This opens a variety of new research capabilities, for example, now it is easy to check how color properties are changing with growing thickness of the coating, how they depend on incident angle and other parameters.

Real and imaginary parts of admittance were added to the list of characteristics that can be plotted. This opens new possibilities for presenting admittance diagrams. Admittance diagrams can be plotted for all types of optical coatings including absorbing ones.

Maximum capacity of OptiLayer databases was increased up to 799 items for each database. Capacity of History and Collection windows used by various OptiLayer design modes was extended to 100 designs. Management of large material databases is now significantly faster than before.

Essential improvements have been made in OptiLayer Constrained optimization mode to make it more convenient and user-friendly. Constrained optimization setup dialog is now modeless and resizable. This dialog stores all settings and automatically restores them after OptiLayer restarting. The OK button in this dialog was substituted for the "Apply & Run" button launching computations without closing the dialog. This allows the user to perform the on-line control of a course of the constrained optimization procedure.

Target Editor dialog was supplemented by a special option providing an automatic specification of the required number of target spectral points. This number is specified basing on the target spectral range and estimated total optical thickness of the designed coating. The new option simplifies target specification and allows one to avoid inappropriate target specifications that may considerably slow down optimization procedures.

New models n(lambda) for the refractive index and k(lambda) for the extinction coefficient were added to a set of OptiChar substrate models. These models are based on the advanced mathematical ideas that don't require parameterizations of complicated refractive index and extinction coefficient wavelength dependencies. The new models essentially increase possibilities of determining substrate refractive indices and extinction coefficients. A flexible and user-friendly interface allows the user to control smoothness of the searched wavelength dependencies basing on the available information of these dependencies.

Multiple updates were made in OptiRE module of OptiLayer software. OptiRE allows now using absorbing layer materials. Various extinction coefficient models were introduced in order to provide this opportunity. A set of OptiRE refractive index models was extended. The sets of models include also the new sophisticated n(lambda) and k(lambda) models. All report windows and General Information window were updated in accordance with the new OptiRE possibilities. Extinction coefficient window was added to the View menu to display new results.

Numerous improvements were made to extend presentation capabilities of all three modules OptiLayer, OptiChar, and OptiRE. The Unicode support was added throughout all parts of the software to allow using extended characters (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc.). Problem directory and root directory information was added to headers of all reports. Specification of axes limits in graphical windows has been made more flexible.

To the top of page

What's new in OptiLayer in 2006 (major updates, version 5.49)

The outstanding computational efficiency of OptiLayer, OptiChar, and OptiRE was further improved due to the modifications of all software codes in accordance with the new Intel SSE3 instruction set. This provides up to 30 percent acceleration of all OptiLayer modules on computers with processors supporting this modern instruction set.

Various editing options of OptiLayer, OptiChar, and OptiRE were significantly improved.

Now it is possible to edit numbers starting from arbitrary positions. Exponential (Scientific) notations of floating-point numbers are permitted where applicable. All software modules automatically display very large or very small numbers in the Exponential format. Undo command has been improved and Redo command has been added. Now Undo buffer is unlimited and specific for every window with editing capabilities. A particular name of undo (redo) operation is displayed in the menu bar and as a hint toolbar window. All block spreadsheet operations (cut, paste, column editing, grid generation, etc.) are also maintained in the Undo buffer as single entries. A new option in database windows allows deleting multiple files in one operation. Capabilities of right-click menus were enhanced in many database editors. Common editing commands were added for fast and easy access to various data.

In OptiLayer and OptiRE design copy and design paste operations were improved. Now it is possible to copy a portion of design from one location to a different location. A "summary" footer was added to the Design Editor. It displays design total physical thickness and design total optical thickness. This information is useful for many advanced options of OptiLayer, in particular for computational manufacturing and monitoring options. A button for the direct transformation of a design from the Spreadsheet presentation to the Formula presentation was added to the Design Editor.

International characters are better supported now in all software modules. It is possible to work with file names and other data in languages different from English. Situations when comma is used as a decimal symbol instead of a period (non US users) are better maintained now. In most cases such situations are detected automatically during import operations. Additionally "Use Comma (,) as a decimal symbol" command was included in the Options dialog of the Import option to cover situations when reliable automatic detection is not possible.

The Broadband monitoring simulation is one of the unique OptiLayer options which goal is supporting coating production by a pre-production simulation of a deposition process with broadband optical monitoring of thicknesses of deposited layers. Various improvements reflecting practical demands have been introduced in this option. In particular, the algorithm for on-line determination of deposited layer thicknesses and prediction of termination instants of layer depositions was essentially improved. Due to this fact computations were significantly accelerated. It is possible now to perform computational manufacturing experiments much faster than before (typically many tens or hundreds times faster than real deposition experiments). An additional control panel enabling one to control the acceleration ratio with respect to a real time of deposition process was introduced.

Capabilities of Plot Engine, a special presentation module of OptiLayer software, were essentially extended.

The electrical field intensity inside a coating was added to the list of characteristics that can be plotted using various types of 2D and 3D presentations. Various Color characteristics were also added to this list. Color characteristics can be evaluated for the reflected light, transmitted light, light reflected from the coating back side and for any state of polarization. Color characteristics can be represented as 2D or 3D plots with any selection of axis variables except for the wavelength.

Now a growing thickness of a deposited coating can be used as a variable for graphical presentations. This option provides new opportunities for evaluating various single wavelength and broadband monitoring approaches.

New convenient tools were added to the OptiLayer Monitor option aimed for generating monitoring spreadsheets. These tools open fast and flexible way for choosing various monochromatic wavelength monitoring strategies. Access to these tools is provided by the Monitor Wavelength Selector that can be invoked through the wavelength button in the left bottom corner of the monitoring spreadsheet being created or through the right click menu in the wavelength column of this spreadsheet. Picker option of the Monitor Wavelength Selector provides an easy-to-use way for selecting a monitoring wavelength when only a limited set of wavelength can be used for monochromatic monitoring. Paste operation is now permitted for editing of monitoring spreadsheets which also facilitates selecting required monitoring strategies.

OptiLayer Import and Export options were further extended. The new data exchange format ODX (Optical Design eXchange format) based on the XML format was implemented in OptiLayer module. Direct import of TFCalc and Essential Macleod files was added to OptiRE. OptiRE has now also a capability to input/output material data files in the Leybold Dispersion Data format and to input designs from the Leybold Monitoring Report. A direct import of SOPRA refractive index and extinction coefficient data files (a free access to these files is available at http://www.sopra-sa.com) is possible in all software modules.

A set of OptiChar models for layer refractive index and layer extinction coefficient was extended by adding new flexible models n(lambda) for the refractive index and k(lambda) for the extinction coefficient. These models are based on the advanced mathematical ideas that don’t require parameterizations of complicated refractive index and extinction coefficient wavelength dependencies and can take into account additional information about smoothness of any of these dependencies. The new models essentially increase OptiChar potentialities in determining optical parameters of absorbing thin films, in particular ITO films. A flexible and user-friendly interface allows the user to control smoothness of searched wavelength dependencies basing on the available additional information of these dependencies.

In OptiChar and OptiRE Angular mode was added to photometric and ellipsometric data presentations. Switching to this mode can be accomplished in the Option section of the Configuration menu. In the Angular mode measurement data editors automatically choose the most convenient configuration for data input. Graphical windows automatically replace spectral dependent presentations by angular dependent presentations.

In OptiRE capabilities of the Preprocess Measurement Data option were extended to cover the Multi-Scan Measurements mode of this program. The Multi-Scam Measurements mode is used for the post-production characterization of optical coatings when successive measurement data for all deposited layers are available. Now the user can simultaneously preprocess all measurement data scans by marking the checkbox "Preprocess All Measurement Scans" in the Measurement Preprocessing dialog.

In the new program version the OptiLayer installer was essentially improved. New options were added to perform install/uninstall operations with greater flexibility. The OptiLayer installer was modified in order to avoid false McAfee antivirus alarm. Now McAfee antivirus can be active during the installation of OptiLayer. The latest versions of Sentinel drivers and interfaces are included into the OptiLayer distribution (http://www.safenet-inc.com/support/tech/sentinel.asp). Extra desktop and menu shortcuts are managed correctly and renaming to the latest version occurs automatically. Bug Report and Send Mail include more information and allow more control now.

To the top of page

What's new in OptiLayer in 2005 (major updates, version 5.22)

Due to its outstanding computational efficiency and a great number of unique analysis, design and characterization options OptiLayer was always oriented to the top segment of thin film software market. At the beginning of 2005 an important decision was made by the OptiLayer team. Along with the standard OptiLayer version which is now called OptiLayer Pro a new OptiLayer Lite was launched. This new version has a reduced number of options as compared to the OptiLayer Pro. A comparative feature matrix for the two versions can be found here. OptiLayer Lite is oriented to all segments of thin film software market. More information about OptiLayer Lite and about terms of its distribution can be obtained from the official OptiLayer distributors.

A new Broadband monitoring simulation option continues the line of unique OptiLayer options which goal is creating the bridge between design and production. This new option enables simulating a deposition process with broadband optical monitoring of thicknesses of deposited layers. The effect of various factors on the quality of production can be examined computationally in a much cheaper and faster way that it can be done using real deposition experiments. Simulated factors include instabilities of deposition rates, random and calibration errors of on-line spectral photometric devises and more.

The new OptiLayer Pro, OptiChar and OptiRE have Import/Export of substrate and layer material dispersion data in a LDD (Leybold Dispersion Data) format. Also Monitoring Spreadsheet can now be directly transferred from OptiLayer Pro to Leybold software in LMR format (Leybold Monitoring Report). This facilitates the exchange of data between all programs of OptiLayer software family and various types of Leybold deposition plants.

An essential improvement was done in the Copy to the Clipboard command for graphical windows. This command copies now not only graphics but also numerical data in the TAB-delimited format which considerably extends user flexibility in choosing data presentation formats. In particular, all data can be then easily pasted to MS Excel.

Now all analysis and design options of OptiLayer as well as all characterization modes of OptiChar and OptiRE allow using reflectance for the light incident on the coating from the substrate side (Back Reflectance). This option is essential for absorbing coatings, in particular, for coatings with metal layers when back reflectance differs from the reflectance for the direct light.

Flexibility of the Error Analysis option has been improved by adding a capability to choose whether independent random errors are simulated in refractive indices of all layers or independent random errors are simulated for layer materials. In the last case errors in refractive indices of layers with the same material are entirely correlated.

Interface Roughness option can be used now also for the analysis of influence of interface roughness on the spectral properties of absorbing coatings.

OptiLayer Import option was extended by adding a capability to import data files in Essential Macleod format.

Refractive Index Profile option allows now plotting extinction coefficient profile of a coating along with its refractive index profile.

New Memorize Plot command allows the user to retain in the computer memory a plot from the active evaluation window in order to compare it later with a new plot presented in the same window. The access to this option is provided from the main menu as well as with the help of right-click menus of corresponding windows.

To the top of page

What's new in OptiLayer in 2004 (major updates, version 5.03)

A new feature with great potentialities has been developed in OptiLayer. This is an ability to perform designing in various environments simultaneously. We call an "environment" a given combination of layer, incident medium, and substrate indices, design targets, light sources, detectors, etc. Using this feature one, for example, can find a design that can be used simultaneously for several substrates with different indices or can explore different pairs of high and low index materials. An access to this feature is provided by the Environment Manager in the OptiLayer Data menu. The user can specify up to 32 environments simultaneously and then to apply any of OptiLayer design modes in order to find design that can be used in all specified environments.

The latest version of OptiLayer allows using the most complete set of color coordinate systems not only in analysis modes as before but also in all OptiLayer design modes. Along with xyzL Chromaticities (CIE 1931) one can use now CIE YUV 1960, CIE YU'V' 1976, CIE L*u*v*, CIE L*a*b*, Hunter Lab, CIE C*hs(uv), CIE HLC systems. Respectively, color targets can be specified in any of these systems.

A selection of the required color space is done in the Color space selector in the Color Target Editor. The Preview tab in this editor allows the user to preview specified color targets in respective color coordinate systems. For user convenience the Modify Color Target command is added in the Synthesis menu. This command enables in-memory modifications of color targets that can be later saved, if required, using the Save Color Target command in the Data menu.

Color Rendering Index (CRI) calculation has been implemented in OptiLayer. The corresponding option reflects the most up-to-date trends in the developments of coatings for various color applications. In particular, a flexible choice of a set of test color samples is provided by the CRI options… tab in the Color section of the General Configuration window.

To provide additional user convenience numerous other improvements have been done in OptiLayer analysis and synthesis options aimed to serve color applications. These include new color diagrams, popup context-sensitive menus in the color evaluation windows, flexible choice of reference color points, etc.

OptiLayer has now Rugates option that allows the user to specify and analyze rugate coatings. A powerful and easy-to-use dialog enables creating rugate coatings of any type. This dialog has a Preview option and the user can easily monitor the refractive index profile of the created rugate. It allows the user to create his own database of rugates or to load some commonly used rugate filter designs.

Mainly in connection with the rugate option, the maximum number of layers of OptiLayer designs has been increased up to 65536. For the consistency with OptiLayer the maximum number of layers in OptiRE has been also increased to the same value.

OptiLayer has now one more type of layer materials, Changeable Composite Materials. These materials are mixtures of two standard high index (H) and low index (L) materials with variable fractions of H and L materials. Materials of this new type are used in rugate coatings but are useful for some other applications as well.

A set of formulas for calculating refractive indices of composite materials has been extended by adding the Average Weighted Value of Refractive Indices formula. It turns out that this formula is the most appropriate one for calculating refractive indices of mixture materials obtained by the co-evaporation of widely used oxide and fluoride materials. The new formula is available in OptiLayer, OptiChar, and OptiRE.

The concept of the merit function used by OptiLayer has been extended. Along with the default quadratic merit function the user can specify now more sophisticated merit functions in which the difference between target and design spectral characteristics is taken in the powers from 1 to 16. The corresponding selection is done using the Power entry field at the Method tab of the Synthesis options. Sophisticated merit functions may be required for meeting some additional synthesis demands. For example, merit functions with high powers may provide the Chebyshev type (high uniformity) of the target characteristic approximation.

Along with standard one-character abbreviations the user can specify now also two-character abbreviations for layer materials. This was done on the demand of some users that work with great numbers of different layer materials. Two-character abbreviations can be used by OptiLayer and OptiRE.

Electric field analysis option has been essentially extended. In the case of oblique light incidence the user can now examine s- and p-components of the electric fields simultaneously. It is also possible to switch on the display of the electric field in the substrate and ambient medium.

Important visualization modifications have been introduced in the OptiLayer Error Analysis option. For a better evaluation of the influence of random errors on spectral characteristics, one can specify time breaks between plotting spectral characteristics corresponding to each new set of random errors and an additional pause before plotting final statistical results of all random tests.

In OptiChar and OptiRE the Append operation has been designed in a more convenient way. This operation is used for combining separate measurement data files in one combined data file. It can be accessed now through the right-click popup menu when selecting files in the measurement database.

Computational efficiency of the OptiChar characterization modes has been increased several times. This is quite essential for optical characterization of thin films with many unknown model parameters when measurement data files with great numbers of data points ought to be analyzed.

The ability to plot coating refractive index profile has been provided in OptiRE. This enables better analyzing of the results of post-production characterization when using various OptiRE options.

The Systematic errors mode of OptiRE has been further developed. It includes now a model with layer thickness errors changing from layer to layer according to the linear law. Such type of systematic errors may take place when quartz crystal monitoring is used for coating production.

General information window in OptiChar displays now all major model parameters. In particular, the overlayer thickness presenting small scale surface micro-roughness can be found directly in the General information window if the corresponding models have been applied for optical characterization.

Comment fields for all data files were added in all OptiLayer, OptiChar, and OptiRE reports. This makes reports more informative then before.

To the top of page

What's new in OptiLayer in 2003 (major updates, version 4.76)

To enhance pre-production analysis capabilities of OptiLayer a new Interface Scattering option has been developed. This option allows the user to estimate the influence of small scale and large scale interface roughness of coating layers on spectral characteristics of optical coatings at normal light incidence.

Thin Layer Removal option is one of the OptiLayer options aimed to improve manufacturability of optical coating designs. This option is essentially improved in the new OptiLayer version and it allows the user to effectively remove thin layers without noticeable degradation of an optical coating performance.

Computational effectiveness of the OptiLayer design modes and, in particular, of the Gradual Evolution mode is permanently improved. The Gradual Evolution mode allows the user to solve design problems without any starting design. And it is often advisable not to use starting designs because in this way the user can obtain a full set of solutions with various combinations of major design parameters, which is necessary for choosing the most practical design. To provide the designer with an additional flexibility in this respect the Remove Design command was added to the Data menu.

Presentation capabilities of the OptiLayer analysis modes have been further improved. In particular, a chart presentation has been added to the Layer Sensitivity analysis mode. A new "Additional" command has been added to the right-click menus of all windows of various Evaluation modes. This allows the user to create additional windows for a simultaneous evaluation of spectral characteristics in different spectral bands and in different scales.

Numerous improvements have been done in OptiLayer color evaluation modes. The Color Evaluation command allows the user to use the most complete set of color coordinate systems. Along with xyzL Chromaticities (CIE 1931) one can use CIE YUV 1960, CIE YU'V' 1976, CIE L*u*v*, CIE L*a*b*, Hunter Lab, CIE C*hs(uv), CIE HLC systems. Dominant and Complimentary wavelengths, Excitation Purity, Correlated Color Temperature can be evaluated and displayed. Observer can be selected as 2 deg (CIE 1931) or 10 deg (CIE 1964). A set of available Reference White Sources includes CIE-A, CIE-B, CIE-C, D55, D65, D75, ISO 9845-1, Uniform Distribution, Black Body with an arbitrary temperature. A custom light source can be specified as well. In the last case it is possible to use any light source from the Light Source Database as a Reference White.

In the new OptiLayer version Source and Detector data are used to modify transmittance (T), reflectance (R), and absorbtance (A), if the command "Use loaded source and detector during R, T, A computations" is active. Mathematical kernels of all OptiLayer synthesis modes were updated in order to work correctly with such modified T, R, A data.

"Update" buttons were added to many Analysis/Synthesis dialog windows. This is done for the user convenience in choosing various analysis and synthesis options. "OK" buttons in these dialog windows were renamed as "Close" buttons.

In OptiChar and OptiRE an ability to save determined substrate/layer material parameters in a formula form was added. View -> Substrate Parameters, View -> Layer Parameters commands allow the user to display formula results obtained by the characterization procedure.

In OptiChar the Layer Material database was added. This allows the user to use files from this database for different purposes, for example, as initial approximations for the Layer Refinement procedure. Files in a tabular format are automatically converted to the OptiChar Layer model presentation.

An ability to combine several measurement data files for a simultaneous characterization analysis is added in OptiChar. The Measurement Preprocessing option is modified for this purpose.

A number of improvements were done in OptiChar with respect to the used refractive index models. An output of the Cauchy model coefficients was modified to provide a better consistency with other OptiLayer modules. These coefficients are now dimensional, expressed for the case of wavelength in mkm. Sellmeier models were added for the refractive index and extinction coefficient.

In all programs an access to the Catalog was moved to the File menu. This makes the Catalog option more user-friendly because it is possible now to transfer data from the Catalog in a much shorter way.

The PNG image format was added in the Save As... commands of all programs. PNG stands for the Portable Network Image format which is now widely used in the Internet.

The X,Y data files import command was added in all programs in order to simplify the input of target/measurement data files specified in the form of a 2-column file of a type Wavelength/Value.

Optical density presentation for the transmittance (T) and reflectance (R) was added in all programs.

To the top of page

What's new in OptiLayer in 2002 (major updates, version 4.48)

To further improve the outstanding design capabilities of OptiLayer the ability to specify arbitrary user defined targets was added. It is now possible to use such targets in all design modes of OptiLayer. Merit functions for the design modes are generated automatically in accordance with the specified targets.

Modern applications often require evaluating coating spectral characteristics in several spectral bands using different scales in these bands. For the user convenience the ability to open multiple evaluation windows with different graphical settings was added to OptiLayer. These setting are quite independent and are easily controlled using right-click menu or Options command.

OptiLayer options related to constrained optimization were entirely redesigned so as to meet even most sophisticated requirements. The ability to perform optimization with respect to groups of layers was implemented. The user has now more flexible and convenient option for specifying thickness limits. Constrained optimization keeping optical thicknesses unchanged can be performed.

The direct optimization with respect to layer indices was implemented in OptiLayer additionally to the previously available inhomogeneous refinement mode optimizing the refractive index profile of a coating. In connection with this option the new type of layer materials with changeable refractive indices can be now used in OptiLayer.

Another new type of layer materials that can be now used by OptiLayer are composite materials. Up to five user defined materials can be mixed in arbitrary proportions in order to produce composite materials. The corresponding design modes can find optimal proportions for these mixtures. Composite materials can be used by OptiChar and OptiRE as well.

Multiple improvements have been done in the Monitoring Spreadsheet option supporting optical monitoring of deposition processes. The monitoring spreadsheet is now saved together with the corresponding design if Save Design command is used. The spectral width of the light source is now taken into account when generating monitoring spreadsheet. The spectrum of the monitoring light beam can be specified as rectangular or Gaussian. Plotting in the Monitoring spreadsheet option was essentially accelerated and the ability to display plots for any selected number of layers was added. The last improvement and the series of new convenient editing options makes the monitoring spreadsheet presentation much more flexible. According to the demands of some users it is now possible to generate monitoring spreadsheet for the case when witness chips are used repeatedly.

Extremely convenient new option "Export to Excel" is added to all three programs OptiLayer, OptiChar, and OptiRE. This option allows the user to export any spreadsheet window or any report window directly to Excel each time invoking a fresh copy of Excel. It is possible to export all data or any selected part of data. It is also possible to include column headers or to omit them.

Right-click context-sensitive menus are added to General Information Windows of all programs (OptiLayer, OptiChar, and OptiRE). It is now possible to perform many frequently required operations , in particular operations with database files, directly from the General Information window. The user will immediately recognize the convenience of this new opportunity being in the frame of modern style of Windows users interface.

The GIF file support was added to "Save As..." commands of all programs in addition to previously supported JPEG, PCX, BMP, and WMF formats. The GIF format is rather economical and also is more Internet friendly.

Multiple essential interface improvements were done in all programs of OptiLayer software family. In particular user comments have unlimited length now. Long comments are displayed in the Callout windows. Local popup menus are added to all OptiLayer databases. These menus include all main database operations. Names of files can now include lower case letters and are limited by 128 characters (32 characters in previous versions of the programs).

To the top of page

What's new in OptiLayer in 2001 (major updates)

Due to the unique mathematical know-how OptiLayer has always been the fastest thin-film software in the world. This year the computational power of OptiLayer has been increased even more. Now OptiLayer is the only one thin-film software that implements multiprocessing computations (parallel computations). This speeds up computations essentially when OptiLayer is used at multiprocessor PC-s operating under Windows NT, Windows 2000, and Windows XP. Multiprocessing is implemented in all three programs: OptiLayer, OptiChar, and OptiRE.

In 2001 a new breakthrough option, De-Sensitization option, was introduced in OptiLayer. For the first time in the history of optical coatings design OptiLayer has option specially aimed for the designing of coatings with low sensitivity to thickness errors. This breakthrough has become possible only due to the unique analytical algorithms elaborated by the authors of OptiLayer.

In 2001 the unique OptiLayer option for the automated design of WDM filters was further improved in several directions. It seems to be unbelievable but the tremendous computational speed of this option has been increased several times as compared to the 2000 year OptiLayer versions. A new Collection database is added to the WDM filters design option. It often happens that a series of various filter designs with excellent spectral properties are obtained in one run of the automated design option. Now the user has an ability to extract these designs one by one and to examine them using various OptiLayer analysis options, for example, to the examine production yield of these designs (see below).
A new option allowing to use arbitrary external targets is added to the WDM filter design option. This option provides an alternative way to specifying WDM filter performance as compared to the main option dialog specifications (filter width, shape factor, etc.). This new option is aimed to solve most complicated and challenging WDM filter design problems connected with new telecommunication applications.

WDM Error Analysis option has been further improved. Now it can estimate the expected production yield of various filter designs depending on the estimated noise of optical monitoring scheme, parameters characterizing the instability of deposition rates, etc.

In 2001 a set of new analytical algorithms for precise computations of group delay and group delay dispersion characteristics was implemented in all major analysis and synthesis modes of OptiLayer, including all first and second order optimization routines. Along with the tremendous accuracy this provides also the computations speed level which is inaccessible to other thin film programs. Due to this fact OptiLayer is able to solve the most complicated design problems connected with various ultra-short pulses applications, like femtosecond laser applications, new challenging telecommunication applications, etc.

Detail investigation of phase properties of multilayers has become increasingly important in connection with many modern applications. These properties are tightly connected with zeros and poles of amplitude transmission and reflection coefficients (see A. Tikhonravov, P. Baumeister, and A. Popov, "Phase properties of multilayers, Applied Optics, Vol. 36, pp. 4382-4392, 1997). For this reason a highly scientific Zeros and Poles option was moved from the scientific version of OptiLayer to the commercially available versions. This option enables the advanced user to investigate the locations of zeros and poles and to examine related phase properties (like group delay ripples, steepness of phase slopes, etc.)

To answer the requirements connected with the forthcoming 40 Gbit/sec applications, new "WDM Filter GD Performance" option was included in OptiLayer. This option enables the user to interactively examine the relation between the shape of the WDM trnsemittance and group delay ripples in the transition zone. The user can adjust either transmittance or group delay according to his requirements, to examine correlation between these characteristics, and to choose those characteristics that are most suitable for his particular needs.

As a further development of Varian instrumentation support both OptiChar and OptiRE provide a new capability to automatically import multiscan measurements from Cary spectrophotometers.

OptiRE has a new option for the simultaneous analysis of several measurements scans. This boarders essentially OptiRE potentialities. In particular it is possible to perform post-production characterization of multilayers basing on the multiple measurement scans obtained after deposition of each new layer.

With the permission of TFCalc software the TFCalc files import option is added to the OptiLayer file menu. This make the data exchange between TFCalc and OptiLayer software an easy task.

To the top of page

What's new in OptiLayer (year 2000)

A new, quite unique, option for the automatic design of WDM filters was introduced at the beginning of 2000. This option is based on the most useful classical results, recent advances in optimization theory, and essential know-how of OptiLayer developers.

The upper limit for the number of points in the "Tabulate" option and various evaluation and error analysis reports was increased from 999 to 9999.

In OptiLayer and OptiRE the upper limit for the number of design layers was increased up to 4096. This upgrade follows increasing practical demands.

"Merit function" was added to the list of functions in Plot Engine, an extremely powerful 2D and 3D graphical presentation option of OptiLayer. This allows investigating merit function dependence on various parameters (like layer thicknesses, layer refractive indices, etc.).

Two new reports, "Layers inhomogeneity" and "Systematic deviations", are added to the list of OptiLayer reports. These new reports are connected with the corresponding OptiLayer options providing additional pre-manufacturing analysis of optical coating designs.

For the additional users convenience saving/restoring of OptiLayer configuration was revised. Now it is problem specific, which means that each problem directory maintains its own window layout and other settings.

To increase the flexibility of design editing "Keep physical thicknesses" checkbox is added to the Design editor. If this checkbox is marked then physical thicknesses remain unchanged when control wavelength, match angle, match medium, and layer indices are changed.

Maintaining the tradition of being the origin of all thin-film software innovations, OptiLayer has now an entirely new non-local design technique called "Inhomogeneous refinement". This new technique originates from author's recent publications.

To meet increasing practical demands in telecommunication area one more unique WDM option was included in OptiLayer. This is the "WDM Error Analysis" dialog, which allows simulating and analyzing the deposition of WDM filters with single wavelength optical monitoring. An automatic end-point determination procedure enables investigating effects of random and systematic errors in monitoring data, impact of instability of deposition rates, parameters that may destroy the effect of errors self-compensation.

In OptiChar and OptiRE a convenient option for the direct import of datafiles from Voolam's ellipsometers was added.

In OptiChar the "Layer Model" database was introduced. This option provides additional opportunities for the determination of thin film parameters. It allows storing all parameters of various layer models, which is quite essential for the proper choice of layer model and selecting of the most reliable characterization results.

In OptiChar and OptiRE the "Total Losses" option is introduced. It is extremely useful for analyzing the origin of losses in thin films and multilayers. It is also useful for the detecting of presence of systematic errors in measurement data.

In OptiChar and OptiRE the "Transmittance without back side" option is added to the list of characterization options. It is useful for the investigating of samples with AR coatings on the substrate backside.

In OptiRE "Show loaded material" checkbox is added in the "Refractive Indices" window. This allows a vivid comparison of obtained and initial layer refractive indices, which may be quite helpful for the analyzing of reverse engineering results.

Well-structured "Simplify Model" options are added to the "Solve" menus of OptiRE and OptiChar. These options essentially improve the flexibility of characterization and reverse engineering procedures and facilitate the finding of the most reliable characterization and reverse engineering results.