Abstract

We model the visual appearance of thin, semi-transparent metallic films coated on arbitrary three-dimensional substrates, incorporating effects including nanoscale film roughness, microscale substrate roughness, and source of light. Film reflectance is modeled by combining electrodynamic simulations with the Schlick approximation, which is adapted and validated to describe the color appearance of thin semi-transparent metallic films with nanoscale, subwavelength roughness. Diffuse scattering originating from microscale roughness of the substrate and partial reflectance is described by a microfacet model. Photorealistic rendered images generated by our approach are qualitatively compared to photographs of fabricated thin-film samples under similar lighting conditions. We render images of semi-transparent metallic films as a function of film thickness, multilayer composition, substrate type, nanoscale film roughness, microscale substrate roughness, and environmental lighting, yielding physically plausible results consistent with previously reported observations.

© 2023 Optica Publishing Group

Spatially resolved thickness determination of rough thin films by reflectometry with polychromatic light

Frank Hergert
Appl. Opt. 56(9) D79-D83 (2017)

Effects of “defective” plasmonic metal nanoparticle arrays on the opto-electronic performance of thin-film solar cells: computational study

Abrar J. Haque, Asif A. Suny, Rifat B. Sultan, Tawseef A. Khan, and Mustafa H. Chowdhury
Appl. Opt. 62(12) 3028-3041 (2023)

Transmitted scattered light from a thin film with shallow random rough interfaces

Raúl García Llamas and Luis E. Regalado
Appl. Opt. 35(28) 5595-5599 (1996)

Transparency of Thin Metallic Films in the Ultraviolet

H. Harold Hartzler
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 24(12) 339-341 (1934)

Influence of the substrate finish and thin film roughness on the optical performance of Mo/Si multilayers

Marcus Trost, Sven Schröder, Torsten Feigl, Angela Duparré, and Andreas Tünnermann
Appl. Opt. 50(9) C148-C153 (2011)