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

Abstract

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.