Navigation: Coatings

 

Coatings

 

Contact Us: fredsupport@photonengr.com

 

 

 

Description


The Coatings folder contains default and user-defined Coatings that can be applied to any surface in a FRED document.  When used in conjunction with Raytrace Controls, coatings specify the relative reflection and transmission for the specular component of the ray interaction at a surface.  The default coatings are:

 

100% Absorb

100% Reflect

%100 Transmit

Standard Coating (96% transmitting, 4% reflecting)

Uncoated (Bare substrate)

 

Users can edit any one of the default coating types except Uncoated, which requires no user input.  NOTE: Changing the default Coatings can have unexpected consequences if the user forgets that a change has been made.  It is recommended that the user create a new coating if different functionality is required.  The default Absorb, Reflect, Transmit, and Standard coatings are Sampled Coating types.  Other FRED coating types are:

 

Uncoated (Bare)

Thin Film Layered

Quarter Wave Single Layered Coating

General Sampled Coating

Polarizer/Waveplate Coatings

Script Coating

 

NOTE: FRED allows the user to change the coating parameters for an existing coating but does not allow the user to change the Coating type once it has been defined.

 

 

Navigation


The Coatings object tree folder

Coatings have their own dedicated folder on the object tree labeled "Coatings", which can be expanded by clicking on the "+" icon and collapsed by clicking on the "-" symbol.  Default and user defined coatings are stored in this folder and can be applied to any surface in the FRED document.

 

Edit/View an existing coating

To edit an existing coating, right mouse click on the coating in the object tree and select "Edit/View Coating".  The coating type cannot be changed once a coating has been defined, but the coating parameters can be modified.

 

Coating Detailed/Summary Reports

The coating Detailed/Summary Reports can be accessed by right mouse clicking on the Coatings folder in the object tree and selecting "Summary Report" or "Detailed Report" from the list menu.

 

Adding a new coating to a FRED document

There are several methods for adding a new coating to a FRED model. Read about them at this help topic.

 

 

Controls


The following table describes the options available in the coating dialog.

 

Control

Inputs / Description

Defaults

Name

Name of the coating.

Coating n

Description

Description of the Coating here.

Blank

Type

Select the coating type from the drop-down menu. Options are:

Sampled Coating

Uncoated (Bare)

Thin Film Layered

Quarter Wave Single Layered Coating

General Sampled Coating

Polarizer/Waveplate Coatings

Script Coating

Sampled Coating

 Coating Specific Options

A different set of options will become available depending on the coating type selected.

 

OK

Create a new Coating and close dialog box.

 

Cancel

Discard new Coating and close dialog box.

 

Help

Access this Help page.

 

 

 

Application Notes


Coatings and raytrace controls

When a ray interacts with a surface, the Raytrace Control is evaluated first to see which components are allowed to propagate.  If the Raytrace Control allows specular transmission and/or specular reflection, the coating property is checked to determine how much power should be generated into each component.  For more on ray power assignments, please see this help topic.

 

Coatings and TIR

When a ray is incident on a surface, the TIR condition is triggered by an evaluation of the refractive index values for the materials assigned to the surface and the ray's current immersion material.  If the ray is determined to be in a TIR condition, then no transmitted ray is generated and the following rules apply for the reflected ray:

Uncoated, Thin Film and Quarter Wave Coatings:

The coating is evaluated and the resulting magnitude and phase is applied to the ray.

          

Sampled, General Sampled, Polarizer/Waveplate and Scripted Coatings:

The coating is not evaluated. The magnitude is set to unity, the phase is set to zero, and then applied to the ray.

 

Default coatings for a new lens element

The default coatings for a lens that was imported from a catalog or entered as a element are 100% Transmitting coatings on the front and back surfaces and 100% Absorbing on the edges and bevels (if any).

 

Default coatings for a new prism element

The surface coating types for a prism imported from a catalog or entered as a primitive will vary according to function, but the coatings will be selected from the default set.

 

Default coatings for a new mirror element

The default coatings for a Mirror element are 100% Reflective on the reflecting surface and 100% Absorbing on the back surface, edge, and bevels. 

 

Copying to a new FRED model

Copies between FRED models will always transfer new material and coating information.

 

Summary and detailed coating reports

Summary and detailed reports containing information about the coatings currently available in the FRED document can be printed to the output window by right mouse clicking on the Coatings folder in the object tree and selecting either "Summary Report" or "Detailed Report" from the list menu.

 

The summary report prints a list of the coating names and descriptions to the output window.

 

The detailed report prints a summary of the coating properties (wavelength, reflection and transmission coefficients, etc.) for each coating type defined in the FRED document.

 

 

Related Topics


Coatings - Overview

Coatings - General Sampled Coating

Coatings - Polarizer / Waveplate Coating

Coatings - Quarter Wave Single Layer

Coatings - Thin Film Layered Coating

Coatings - Sampled Coating

Coatings - Script Coating

Coatings - Uncoated

 

For details about Raytrace Controls, select the following link.

Raytrace Controls

 

 

 

 

 

Copyright © Photon Engineering, LLC