General:

Single file storage concept is implemented in all three modules of OptiLayer Thin Film Software! The new concept replaced the old concept of problem directories. Similar to many other commonly used modern software tools, OptiLayer Files can be opened, saved, created. The concept of the projects (from earlier OptiLayer versions) are replaced by commonly used concept of Layouts.

Important: you can continue using the familiar old style if you want.

Important: the existing problem directories can be easily imported to the single-file-format and vice versa.

COM Automation in OptiLayer, OptiRE: Help on COM Automation added. It simplifies significantly implementing Automation tool.

OptiLayer

  • Deep Search methods are in Gradual Evolution, Design Cleaner, Thickness Increaser implemented. It means that Deep Needle can be combined with Gradual Evolution,Design Cleaner, Thickness Increaser. This improves significantly their performances and find designs with excellent performances. The Deep Search Methods were applied to the most recent design contest in the frame of Optical Interference Coatings 2019 problems and allowed Michael Trubetskov to win all three prizes. Basic principles of the algorithms and their benefits have been recently published.
  • New types of targets are introduced: stress and thickness target.
  • It is possible to design coatings with materials whose optical constants are depending on layer thicknesses (for example, metal-dielectric films). The details are here.
  • Refinement and synthesis with rugate-like layer is improved. Now it is possible to fix all sublayers of an inhomogeneous (gradient) layer and to perform other synthesis procedures, like Needle Optimization, Refinement, etc.
  • Added an ability to use encryption password in the Backup/Restore option. The resulting ZIP files use very strong AES256 encryption for security.

  • Thickness Increaser now takes into account oblique incidence and optically-dense incident medium, it significantly improves its performance. Also it was added the ability to consider all active materials as candidates, even if they are not present in the current design.

  • Important designs in the Collection are now shown as dashed lines during the Filter synthesis.
  • Added Media tab to Error Analysis and Error Yield Analysis options. This tab is visible when a stack is loaded to memory, and it allows to specify absolute and relative RMS errors for thicknesses of media of the loaded stack. This extension allows to study the influence of the media thicknesses when these media have some absorptance.
  • Randomizer settings are more conveniently controlled in the Filter Synthesis dialog.
  • Integral Targets with ranges or A, B qualifiers can now be used in Yield analysis.
  • More examples added.
  • Color Specifications represented as differences are displayed now with the help of 2 ellipses at the L*a*b* diagram: one wider ellipse corresponds to zero deviations of L*, another corresponds to 0.5 of the specified distance spent on L* deviation, and the rest 0.5 distance – to a*b* deviations.
  • Comboboxes are now used for material abbreviations in the Design Editors. It simplifies significantly editing design.
  • E-Field window. Now electric field curves have alternating colors to show different layers better.
  •  “Memorize Plot(s)” set of commands is added to the Electric Field window.
  • Default comments of the designs generated with Filter Synthesis option are now including all design parameters.
  • New File dialog and Save dialog now select the comment entry field content on keyboard focus. It is more convenient if the comment should be replaced.
  • F1 help for the Design Editor improved.
  • Variator: validation implemented in order to prevent negative values for thicknesses, extinction coefficients, and Re(n) smaller than 0.1.
  • Range target display and specification display (the directions of semi-crosses) adjusted to be consistent with A and B qualifiers.
  • Removed flicker problems from design bar element. It is especially noticeable improvement in multi-coating modes, like Stack optimization or Multi-Coating optimization.
  • Fixed Quartz monitoring issue at the monochromatic simulator – when the correction factor is not 1.0.
  • Improvements in order to avoid weird windows scaling when opening a project at another computer or at the same computer with a different screen resolution. This problems was especially unpleasant at 4K monitors.
  • In some cases (display of Averaged, min, max values) part of the values was displayed as N/A. Fixed.
  • Support of inhomogeneities/interlayers saved with the design improved.
  • In some cases Design Editor of the current design was not updated propely when a design with smaller number of layers was loaded.
  • Bug with loading some specific color targets to memory fixed. The problem was noticed with unusual combinations of color targets with different polarizations for the same angle of incidence.

OptiRE

  • Added ability to process Depolarization data when Psi, Delta without Back Side = On. It is necessary for data obtained from CompleteEASE Woollam software.
  • Added an ability to use encryption password in the Backup/Restore option. The resulting ZIP files use very strong AES256 encryption for security.
  • Comboboxes are now used for material abbreviations in the Design Editors.
  • Variator: validation implemented in order to prevent negative values for thicknesses, extinction coefficients, and Re(n) smaller than 0.1.
  • New File dialog and Save dialog now select the comment entry field content on keyboard focus. It is more convenient if the comment should be replaced.
  • Fixed RESpectra window bug: it was not updated on the change of X- and Y-axis units.
  • Improvements in order to avoid weird windows scaling when opening a project at another computer or at the same computer with a different screen resolution. This problems was especially unpleasant at 4K monitors.
  • F1 help for the Design Editor improved.
  • In some cases (display of Averaged, min, max values) part of the values was displayed as N/A. Fixed.
  • Variator bug fixed: in the case of > 2 layer materials the variation of Re(n) was attached to a wrong material.
  • In some cases Design Editor of the current design was not updated propely when a design with smaller number of layers was loaded.
  • Refractive Index profile always uses the Reference Wavelength specified in the General Configuration dialog. Before it tried to use Control Wavelength of the Design loaded to memory, and it created inconsistencies in the profile representation.
  • Infinite loop fixed in a certain case of COM calls to OptiRE. It was possible when layer materials were deleted from the database, and the OptiRE environment was configured for computations completely, and computations were running. It was also possible when a material loaded to memory was deleted in the database in user-interface mode.
  • Bug with loading some specific color targets to memory fixed. The problem was noticed with unusual combinations of color targets with different polarizations for the same angle of incidence.
  • Help on COM Automation added.
  • Convergence of fitting procedures significantly improved in the case of all ellipsometry-related data sets.

OptiChar

  • Added ability to process Depolarization data when Psi, Delta without Back Side = On. It is necessary for data obtained from CompleteEASE Woollam software.
  • Added an ability to use encryption password in the Backup/Restore option. The resulting ZIP files use very strong AES256 encryption for security.
  • New File dialog and Save dialog now select the comment entry field content on keyboard focus. It is more convenient if the comment should be replaced.
  • Improvements in order to avoid weird windows scaling when opening a project at another computer or at the same computer with a different screen resolution. This problems was especially unpleasant at 4K monitors.
  • Refractive Index profile always uses the Reference Wavelength specified in the General Configuration dialog. Before it tried to use Control Wavelength of the Design loaded to memory, and it created inconsistencies in the profile representation.
  • Convergence of fitting procedures significantly improved in the case of all ellipsometry-related data sets.