TFStudio
Design, analyze and synthesize multilayer optical thin-film coatings.
What is TFStudio?
Section titled “What is TFStudio?”TFStudio is a desktop application for designing, analyzing and synthesizing multilayer optical thin-film coatings. It implements the Transfer Matrix Method (TMM) following Macleod’s Thin-Film Optical Filters (5th ed.) and a full synthesis stack (Damped Least Squares refinement, Sullivan & Dobrowolski numerical needle, Tikhonravov gradual evolution).
This site is the reference manual. Every tool window inside the app has a
? button that opens the matching page here. The contents below follow the
app’s ribbon, so a tool sits in the same group here as it does on screen.
Contents
Section titled “Contents”Design
Section titled “Design”Design EditorBuild and edit the coating: layer stack, substrate, media, and the surface you are designing.
Material EditorBrowse, import and create optical materials: the n(λ), k(λ) data every coating layer uses.
SpecificationState your design requirements as PASS/FAIL qualifiers, and turn them into a merit function.
Stack FormulaGenerate a whole layer stack from a compact symbolic formula like Air | (HL)^4 H | Glass.
Analysis
Section titled “Analysis”Optical EvaluationSpectral reflectance, transmittance and absorptance of the active design.
Color EvaluationCIE chromaticity, Lab and color readouts that show what your coating looks like to the eye.
Admittance DiagramThe optical admittance locus through the stack, and the design intuition it gives at a glance.
Electric FieldThe |E(z)|² standing-wave profile through the stack.
EllipsometryΨ and Δ, the amplitude-ratio and phase quantities an ellipsometer measures.
GD / GDDSpectral phase and its derivatives, the diagnostics for chirped mirrors and ultrafast coatings.
RI Profilen(z) and k(z), the index step profile of the stack at a chosen wavelength.
Integral ValuesWeighted spectral averages such as Tvis, Tsol, TUV and TNIR.
Plot EngineBuild custom multi-curve XY plots, or map a quantity over two swept variables.
Tolerance
Section titled “Tolerance”Monte-CarloSee how random manufacturing errors blur your spectrum and what yield to expect.
Layer SensitivitySee which layers are the most critical to manufacture accurately.
InhomogeneitiesModel graded transition layers and see how a non-step interface changes your spectrum.
Systematic DeviationsApply a correlated thickness or index shift across the whole stack and sweep its effect.
Roughness / ScatteringEstimate scatter loss from interface roughness and the specular R and T that survive it.
Optimization
Section titled “Optimization”Merit Function EditorTargets, operands, weights and thickness constraints: what the optimizer drives toward.
Operand ReferenceEvery merit-function operand: what it computes, its arguments, and how it drives the optimizer.
RefinementAdjust layer thicknesses to minimize the merit function, with a choice of optimization methods.
NeedleInsert thin needle layers where they improve the merit function, then refine. Automatic and manual.
Gradual EvolutionNeedle optimization wrapped in an outer loop that forces insertions to escape local minima.
Structural OptimizerRestructure the stack by adding, removing, splitting, merging or perturbing layers, with a simulated-annealing accept.
VariatorLive sliders for what-if exploration: per-layer thickness, substrate, and per-material n/k.
Design CleanerMerge adjacent same-material layers and remove very thin layers, then optionally re-refine.
Filter DesignBuild a multi-cavity Fabry-Perot bandpass prototype (DWDM, LWDM or notch) in a few guided steps.
Optimization MethodsEvery refinement and synthesis algorithm: what each does and when to pick it.
Simulation
Section titled “Simulation”BBM SimulatorSimulate making your coating under a broadband optical monitor and see the as-built spectrum.
Mono SimulatorSimulate a single-wavelength monitor, with turning-point, level or timed cut strategies per layer.
Data Exchange
Section titled “Data Exchange”Measured SpectraImport measured R/T/A spectra as overlays, and export curves to CSV or JCAMP-DX.
Zemax CoatingsRead and write Zemax OpticStudio COATING.DAT, including materials and coating stacks.
Process ExporterPlay back your coating layer by layer and export per-step deposition data.
Information
Section titled “Information”Report GeneratorBuild a polished multi-section HTML or PDF report to hand a customer or file with a design.
HistoryBrowse and jump to any previous state of the active design.
Concepts
Section titled “Concepts”Surface & Evaluation ModesThe two controls that decide which coating is optimized and what every window evaluates.
Conventions used throughout this manual
Section titled “Conventions used throughout this manual”- Wavelength in nanometres (nm).
- Angle of incidence (AOI) measured from the surface normal, degrees.
- Polarization
s(TE),p(TM), oravg= ½(R_s + R_p). - Sign convention of the complex refractive index:
ñ = n + ik(k ≥ 0 for absorbing media), with the time-harmonic factor exp(−iωt). This is the complex conjugate of Macleod’sñ = n − ik/ exp(+iωt) form (§2.2); results are identical, phases carry the opposite sign. - Layer 1 = layer touching the substrate (first deposited).