Real‐time simulation of thin‐film interference with surface thickness variation using the shallow water equations

• Published in: Computer animation and virtual worlds Vol. 35; no. 4
• Main Authors: Gu, Mingyi, Dai, Jiajia, Chen, Jiazhou, Yan, Ke, Huang, Jing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.07.2024
• Subjects: Matrix methods; Reflectance; Shallow water equations; Thickness; thickness variation; Thin films; thin‐film interference; Transfer matrices; transfer matrix method
• DOI: 10.1002/cav.2289
• ISSN: 1546-4261

Thin‐film interference is a significant optical phenomenon. In this study, we employed the transfer matrix method to pre‐calculate the reflectance of thin‐films at visible light wavelengths. The reflectance is saved as a texture through color space transformation. This advancement has made real‐time rendering of thin‐film interference feasible. Furthermore, we proposed the implementation of shallow water equations to simulate the morphological evolution of liquid thin‐films. This approach facilitates the interpretation and prediction of behaviors and thickness variations in liquid thin‐films. We also introduced a viscosity term into the shallow water equations to more accurately simulate the behavior of thin‐films, thus facilitating the creation of authentic interference patterns. The graphical image is in the attachment. We employed the transfer matrix method to pre‐calculate the reflectance of thin‐films at visible light wavelengths and saved as a texture through color space transformation. Furthermore, we proposed the implementation of shallow water equations to simulate the morphological evolution of liquid thin‐films. This approach facilitates the interpretation and prediction of behaviors and thickness variations in liquid thin‐films. Thus facilitating the creation of authentic interference patterns.