OTF STUDIO:  ALL  IN  A  NEW  LIGHT

Next Workshop:

Location: Leica Welt, Wetzlar, Germany

Neubau Leica Camera Fassade

Photo: Hanneke Heinemann

Save the date:

11.06.2025 - 13.06.2025

New features, updates, and bug fix are here.

The most recent: Automatic generator of monitoring strategies, infrared strategy, Marks feature, Ampliture column, several additional monitoring settings.

No limits for the number of monitoring wavelengths.


 OTF StuDio Development history (updates and bug fixes)

24.61

1. Monochromatic Monitoring enhancements:

  • Machine database was implemented. The elements of the database (Machines) collect features and settings of the monitoring process.
  • The first Strategy Generator is implemented: the monitoring wavelengths can be generated automatically using settings specified in the loaded Machine. The number of different monitoring wavelengths is limited only by the number of design layers. The calculations are extremely fast even for a large number of monitoring wavelengths.
  • Amplitude column is added to the Monitoring Runsheet panel.
  • Infrared monitoring strategy is implemented.
  • Marks feature (Monitoring ribbon) is implemented: the feature allows indicating violation of the criteria specified for the strategy generation.
  • New monitoring configuration settings introduced: InR persistence (Keep Initial Readout constant on updates), Essential Macleod swing definition (checked or unchecked), checkbox Show Signal until the &Next Extremum, and the number of digits in the Monitoring Runsheet signal.
  • Export to Macleod CSV format.

2. Synthesis enhancements:

  • Three new targets were added: differential phase shifts between p- and s- polarization on Reflectance, Back Reflectance, and Transmittance (for laser applications).
  • Taper values can be now in the range from 0.0 up to 10.0.
  • Consistent operating of constrained optimization if the number of design layers was changed during the refinement.

3. Interface improvements

  • Chip column excluded from the visibility configuration of the Monitoring Runsheet since this column should always be visible.
  • Signal plots modified to avoid overlapping of the gray lines representing the next layer signal.
  • More convenient operation of all sliders in Variators and Runsheet option.

4. Bug fixing:

  • In very rare cases, the Design Editor was opened in the simple mode without the ability to use the "More" function if the initial configuration required the use of extended mode (for example, a material with inhomogeneity is included). Fixed.
  • In rare cases, Sensitivities in the Model Builder were not updated, if measurements were unloaded or changed. Fixed.
  • In rare cases, chip selector tabs in the Signal plot were not shown, even if multiple chips were used Color target representation on the Color diagram is now correctly updated when the active environment changes.
    Unload Design and Unload Material operations improved in the OM mode.

24.57

1. Enhancement of monochromatic monitoring options (OM mode):

  • The Spectral, Contour and Surface panels have been implemented, allowing the presentation of signal dependency on thickness and wavelength.
  • Various import options have been implemented into the OM mode.

2. Design and evaluation options enhanced: Multi-Environments have been implemented.

3. Manual Mode for the Smart Brush algorithm added.

4. Interactive analysis (Variator): correction factor variations and control wavelength variation now also change design thicknesses in the Design Builder table.

5. Accelerated export of large datasets to Clipboard (Copy Numbers feature with large number of points to export).

6. Interface improvement: it is possible to use the same color for the pattern and for the foreground in order to obtain solid look of the bars.

7. Issues of the Values List panel:

  • In some configurations conventional target part was evaluated incorrectly. Fixed.
  • Some combo boxes included unnecessary items if the configuration dialog was used multiple times.Fixed.
  • The constraint ± 1000 on the Integral Target values removed.

 8. Bug fixing:

  • Interactive analysis in the Multi-Coating mode: changes in the Re(n) offset did not affect the spectral characteristics. Fixed.
  • The unnecessary Tolerance column in the Specification Editor (Expressions type) has been removed.
  • Variator issue is fixed for the case when one of the layer thicknesses is zero.
  • Wrong number of parameters for the Random model, if this model is unchecked. Fixed.

24.53

1. Enhancement of batch processing: 

  • Various plots of obtained parameters: systematic errors, layer thicknesses, discrepancy values.
  • Keeping the results in memory between OTF Studio runs.
  • History of results with possibility to plot fitting related to separate positions.

2. Combining layers of same materials after saving the design.

3. Spectra (illuminant, detector) are now considered also in the RE mode. The corresponding option should be activated in the configuration.

4. Enhancement of the optical monitoring mode (OM):

  • Links column is added. If links are active, the monitoring wavelength is changed simultaneously for all selected layers.
  • Ability to load materials and light source independently from AS mode, the configuration is correctly saved and restored between OTF Studio sessions.

5. Enhancement of import/export options: Shincron export is implemented.

6. When the Copy option is applied to a chart, it copies not only the bitmap to the Clipboard but also the metafile and a text representation of all numerical information in the chart. In Excel, to insert either the bitmap or the metafile, use the Paste Special command. To copy numerical values, use Paste command.

7. Normalize Source and Detector option (Plot group of the Configuration panel). It is ON by default. Normalization helps to prevent unusual values of R/T during computations, if a non-normalized illuminant or detector is loaded to memory.

8. Improvements of Multi-Coating mode: sometimes it was impossible to change the loaded design. It happens when a secondary (hidden) design field references a design missing in the Design database (for example, deleted design). Fixed.

9. Interface improvements in the CH and RE modes:

  • Unnecessary fields in the Substrate Characterization Model Builder are removed.
  • Model Builder displays the number of active parameters in each of sub-model.

10. COM improvements:

  • Save function saves a file with changed name.
  • Wait function blocks computational calls more effectively.

11. Del key removed rows of a spreadsheet instead of the clearing the current edit field. Fixed.

12. Communication enhancement:

  • Configurable E-Mail option (Help ribbon) to send questions with related technical information, screenshots, and project files (configurable) is implemented.
  • Check updates feature is implemented.

24.50

1. Multi-QWOT Filter design algorithm developed: This algorithm enables the design of narrow-band pass filters with a quarter-wave structure, where the layers are multiples of a quarter wavelength. The feature can be accessed via the Design Builder or the Synthesis ribbon.

2. Timestamp columns within the History and Collection panels: The History and Collection panels include additional columns for Date, Time, and Quality, which are hidden by default. The visibility of these columns can be managed through a tab within the History/Collection panel, and this setting persists across OTF Studio sessions. The Date and Time settings are useful for tracking long computations that may take several hours.

3. Design Report options improved: if no target is loaded, the design report will display spectral values based on the grid specified in the additional Design Report options.

4. Improvements in the Monte Carlo Colors feature: better synchronization between settings on the Monte Carlo Color Simulation Settings panel and the setting on the Monte Carlo Color panel.

5. Compatibility issue with old Office 2016 discovered. Advice: upgrade MS Office 2016 to a newer version to avoid compatibility problems.

6. The New (project) tab now creates a default layout of panels instead of an empty layout.

7. The export to LMR files has been enhanced with an optional conversion feature. Now, when a material's definition includes a formula, OTF Studio will prompt whether a conversion to a table is needed. If conversion is required, the user will be asked to provide the grid parameters.

8. Bug fixing:

  • The header of the Monte Carlo Color panel (Table view) did not update after changes were made in the settings on the right panel. Fixed.
  • More... option of the electric field evaluation: if the Max value was changed not by the spin-box but by typing the numbers, the wavelength range was not updated. Fixed.
  • When a stack was loaded, color diagrams did not displayed its name in the Name column, but an empty field instead. Fixed.
  • Inhomogeneity settings of maximum allowed deviations were not saved in the model in the RE mode. Fixed.
  • Export to LMR files was blocked in some specific cases. Fixed.
  • When a design with another material, but with the same name was loaded to the Environment in the RE mode, Reverse Engineering Model Builder did not update properly. Fixed.

24.46

1. Enhancements of graphical and analysis tools: 2D and 3D plots to display various types of dependencies:

  • Spectral characteristics vs. wavelength, phase characteristics vs. wavelength;
  • Spectral and phase characteristics vs. AOI;
  • Spectral and phase characteristics vs. offsets in refractive indices and extinction coefficient offsets of layer materials, substrate, and incidence medium;
  • Merit function, electrical field vs. offsets in refractive indices and extinction coefficient offsets of layer materials, substrate, and incidence medium;
  • Spectral and phase performance vs. coating coordinate;
  • Merit function, electric field vs. coating coordinate;
  • Color coordinates (all color spaces) and color differences vs. AOI;
  • Color coordinates (all color spaces) and color differences vs. coating coordinate or thickness of a selected layer;
  • Color coordinates (all color spaces) and color differences vs. offsets in refractive indices and extinction coefficient offsets of layer materials, substrate, and incidence medium.
  • 3D plots are rotatable.
  • 3D plots can be displayed as contour or surface types.
  • Chart Designer operates for all plots, including 3D plots.
  •  Extremely fast computations and updating plots.
  • All plots are updated when interactive analysis is used (Variator mode).
  • Using this newest 2D/3D feature, you can customize your layout by combining multiple plots (2D, 3D).

2. Interface improvements:

  • Improved import of X/Y data, when the selected folder has files of other types (not only text X/Y).
  • The central wavelength for the surrounding variation group is now preserved and kept as configured in the general configuration dialog.
  • Login and logout from the User account (Windows) can cause internal changes to the decimal separator setting in OTF Studio with undesirable results. Fixed. The internal setting for the Decimal separator remains constant.

24.44

1. Interface enhancements:

  • Right-click drop-down list added to History/Collection panels with main related commands.
  • Capacity of History and Collection panels can be also controlled with the right-click drop-down. Possible capacities are 100, 250, 1000, 2500 items.
  • Open Project function now also sets the Mode of OTF Studio according to the mode saved in the Project file.
  • Size of buttons in the Model builder decreased to avoid multi-line layout.
  • Better updates of U-, g-values after change of configuration or settings.
  • Fit operation (RE mode) checks that at least some model is selected, and if not, an error message is displayed. It allows to avoid possible confusion on not working fit procedure.

2. Enhancement of design algorithms:

  • Gradual Evolution and Needle Optimization methods were further improved to accelerate convergence.
  • The Multi-Start algorithm was enhanced to prevent thick solutions.

3. Formula to Table convertor has been implemented to the Substrate editor and Material editor.

4. New COM interface: Meta-tag types and configuration can be controlled through COM.

5. Bug fixing:

  • When a database is empty, the action tabs like Copy, Rename, etc. were not immediately activated after creation a new database item. Fixed.
  • In some cases, Column Editor and Grid Generator were opened with empty useless content. Fixed.
  • When the Design Builder control was undocked (floating panel), the Variator tab was not working. Fixed.
  • Copy and Rename operations ended without warning when the initial name was not changed in the save dialog. Now an informative error message appears in such cases.
  • Import to Essential Macleod had wrong hint text on the Import ribbon.

24.41

1. Batch processing for Position-type measurements in RE mode has been developed. When Position-type measurement data and a selected coating/layer model are loaded, the Batch tab on the Reverse Engineering Model Builder panel allows you to apply the model to all positions simultaneously. The results (correction factors) can be easily exported to a text file or Excel.

2. Fast export tab has been added into Design Editor allowing you to export the design into a  *.txt format of X/Y type.

3. Enhancements:

  • Synthesis with inhomogeneous layers enhanced and converges faster
  • Mode switching has been made more convenient: there’s no need to decide whether to save the current project file. The modified status is automatically preserved across all modes.
  • Plotting of Evaluation plots accelerated.

4. Bug fixing:

  • In some rare cases it was not possible to switch between OM and AS modes. Fixed.
  • COM initialization bug (24.40 version) fixed.

24.40

1. Angular plots have been implemented and can be accessed through the View ribbon (AS mode) → Angle. These plots allow for the visualization of angular dependencies for spectral characteristics, phase, GD, GDD, and Expressions. Multiple angular plots are supported.

2. Freeze (curve) option has been added to the Evaluation panels (AS mode). It allows to keep existing theoretical spectral curves in the plots even when the design or configuration changes.

3. Tooltips have been significantly improved: they display better the numerical values for each of the theoretical curves. Now, the numerical values of the spectral characteristics when you hover the cursor over the relevant point are displayed automatically, i.e., "old tooltips" are active by default.

4. Tooltips and Freeze in RE and CH: both features are accessed also through the right-click drop-down list of Fitting plots.

5. Significant enhancement of docking: Docking of panels and plots is now more flexible than ever, allowing for any customizable layout. Plots and panels can be arranged vertically and horizontally in any order. Very complex layouts are possible now.

6. The Design Recipe feature has been integrated into RE mode. This feature allows for the automatic saving of designs after reverse engineering, with adjustments for layer thickness correction factors (Results ribbon → Recipe). The thicknesses from the Recipe can then be used for the next deposition run. After this run, reverse engineering can be performed again to determine any new errors in layer thicknesses. The Recipe design should be loaded as the starting point for this process. The reverse-engineered design can be saved as the Recipe for the subsequent deposition run. During the saving process, Recipe designs are automatically named in a way that makes it easy to track the entire sequence of recipes. The Design Recipe feature significantly speeds up the workflow.

7. Export to LightTools Design and LightTools Spectra (Coating) have been implemented.

8. Now, LMR export is supported in OM mode only, since for LMR the runsheet of monitoring is required. Therefore non-supported LMR export tabs have been removed from the Results ribbons in AS, CH, and RE modes.

9. Interface improvements:

  •  Selection of target spectral characteristics in the Target Editor is now more convenient: you can select an item with just one click, whereas previously, two clicks were required.
  •  Import from Catalogs is more convenient: the first item is not selected on initial display of the Import panel.
  • Negative AOI are formally allowed in the Measurement Editor (they are imported as negative from Agilent Cary measurement data files, for example). Internally, however, these values are converted to positive, as the direction of incident light is irrelevant for the models being considered.

10. Bug fixing:

  • Inconsistency of phase plotting when phase limits are 0 - 360° are fixed: in some cases the resulting phase was plotted as a constant; now, it can be plotted correctly only with Y-Axis auto scale settings.
  • Computational problem fixed: it happened when stacks used with inhomogeneous materials.11.

11. RefractiveIndex.INFO import uses now the updated database (latest status, August 2024).

24.38

1. Significant progress has been made in multi-scan import and batch processing. Measurements that include multiple scans or positions are now organized as objects, allowing for flexible editing and loading:

  • This feature enables the import of multi-scan measurements and saves them as individual objects. This allows multiple BBM measurements to be stored within the same project without intermingling. It is possible to switch between Multi-scan edit and edit of separate measurements.
  • Multi-scan files with Meta-tags of Position type is now supported. It is possible to activate any of the available positions and to bring it to the Model processing of RE mode. This feature is especially valuable for large-area depositions and batch processing.
  • The Multi-Scan import option has been extended to support the Agilent Cary measurement data files, which include Position-type measurements. OTF Studio automatically recognizes the positions associated with the measurements, making this feature particularly useful for reverse engineering and the characterization of large-area coatings in batch processing.
  • Multi-scan mode in all types of supported spectrophotometers selects all available items by default.

2. Progress in characterization algorithms and features:

  • Higher order inhomogneities added to the CH Model Builder.
  • More informative and practically useful thickness dependence of the refractive index is plotted instead of the inhomogeneity factor in the refractive index panel.
  • Copy Numbers feature was added to the Profile panel

 3. Horiba ellipsometric data import update: support of modern format has been added.

4. QWOT units are now used in the Thickness Errors panel (RE mode).

5. New COM interfaces:

  • IPreprocessing interface allows to make measurement data preprocessing automatically
  • IsBusy property is added: it determines whether computations are already or still running

 6. Bugs fixing:

  • Color Specifications Editor: Difference setting was not stored after change in the dialog. Fixed.
  • Target/Measurement previews were not updated on units change. Fixed.
  • Empty "Preview" panel appeared when switched to RE or CH mode from another mode. Fixed.
  • The loaded data for a layer material was previously subject to unnecessary truncation based on the model's re(n) and im(n) limits. This truncation was inconsistent with the assumption that loaded data should be retained as is, without any modifications. The truncation has now been removed.
  • OTF Studio 64 bit hanged if ellipsometry curves are evaluated for the empty environment due to uncertainty 0/0, since there is no reflected light in such configuration. Fixed.
  • A very subtle and rare bug revealed and fixed. At some laptops, 64 bit version raised a GDI+ exception during startup.

24.35

1. Stack options (analysis, synthesis) are implemented. Stack is an assembly of substrates (media) and coatings. Each substrate may be coated or uncoated by multilayer(s).  Each substrate can be parallel or wedged.

  • Calculation of spectral characteristics of stacks
  • Calculation of colors
  • Calculation of integral values
  • Monte-Carlo simulations
  • Copy numbers and stack reports
  • Synthesis of stacks

2. Import of multiple measurements recorded in the course of the coating deposition, for example, multi-scan BBM data.

3. Further enhancement of import options: ThinProcess® (Zeiss) import is implemented.

4. COM interfaces enhancement:

  • Multi-scan reverse engineering Python example is added
  • Clear operation for Color target and Integral target added
  • Computational functions called through COM update Design Builder panel settings

5. Catalog news:

  • Catalog is extended with Schott Glass data
  • Interface was improved: numbers columns removed, capabilities to sort and filter through small buttons in the column header are added.

6. The "New Project" option is now more friendly: it opens now several panels frequently used in the work flow.

7.  Bugs fixing:

  • If Gradual Evolution started from the empty design, in some cases it included a material, not selected in the corresponding setting. Fixed.
  • If Specifications were loaded, a warning about wrong range was issued. Warning removed.
  • In Import from Excel, measurement were not appended to the opened measurement table on the repeated clicks on Import buttons. Fixed.

24.32

1. Further Enhancement of the Color Block:

  • Lab color diagram is implemented (in Analysis/Synthesis and in Reverse Engineering).
  • Color evaluation in Reverse Engineering added. Now it is possible to calculate colors of the current model and compare them with the colors of measurements and colors related to color targets.
  • Display of colors in two different color spaces implemented. For example, it is possible to see color coordinates in numerical form in chromaticities and Lab spaces simultaneously.
  • Complimentary target color characteristics are displayed better: "1 - " prefix added to indicate computed values.
  • Saving the selected tabs in all color-related panels between OTF Studio sessions: When you save the project and close the program, the configuration of opened tabs is also saved. Upon reopening the same project, the tabs will be restored to their state at the time of closing.

2. Support of Multi-scan measurements in Reverse Engineering is implemented. Now it is possible to load measurements after each layer, apply Reverse Engineering models, and perform post-production characterization based on measurements recorded in-situ after deposition of each layer.

3. Electric Field display is improved: scaling of axes, better display of layer boundaries.

4. New Import feature: import from Optoplex files added.

5. The Reverse Engineering Model Builder is now more convenient: the selection of active layers for Random or Quasi Random errors is preserved throughout the entire reverse engineering process. This enhancement is particularly important for solving complex reverse engineering problems that require multiple steps.

6. Enhancement of COM interfaces: support of Multi-scan measurement implemented. New COM example demonstrating Multi-Scan measurement process (C#) added to the installation package.

7. Bug fixes:

  • An inconsistency in "Reference" comb-box in the Differences panel of Color panel fixed.
  • If Compare mode is active, checkboxes appeared on a new database panel, even if this database is not related to the items of the comparison. Fixed.
  • Check boxes "Show Loaded Materials" and "Include index offset" placed on the top of the panel to avoid overlapping.

24.29

1. Further Enhancement of the Color Block: Calculations of color differences between Target and Design, Color Target and Design, and Target and Color Target.

2. Enhancement of the Color Block:  display of target color characteristics. It works if the conventional target has compatible characteristics in the color-related spectral range.

3. Import from Semilab *.smdx files (ellipsometry) data implemented.

4. Configuration: Monitoring wavelength ranges added.

5. Added: Preventing sleep state of laptops when computations are running.

24.28

1. Enhancement of Color Block: specifications in colors are implemented. Color distances according to CIEDE 2000, CIE 94, CIE 76, CMC 1:1, CMC 2:1.

2. Enhancement of Color Block: Monte Carlo simulations of color coordinates are implemented.

3. Monte Carlo simulations of values are implemented.

4. Enhancement of Multi-Start algorithm: Jumps in Multi-Start Design Vicinity have 3 possible settings: Not Allowed (= No Jumps), Normal, Aggressive (fast jump to better design).

5. Reverse Layers  added to the right-click menu of the Design Editor.

6. New Hotkey: Ctrl+Enter key combination works as "Commit"  in all editors.

7. Improvement of DSG file import: correct processing of files with coinciding names of layer materials. To resolve collisions additional materials are renamed.

24.27

1. Monte-Carlo simulation of Electric Field is implemented.

2. New COM interfaces: Specifications and Specification Quality value are accessible with COM interfaces.

3. Compare Re(n) plots bug fixed: wrong display if "Show Loaded" is checked/unchecked.

4. Preview of Target and Specifications shows Expressions.

5. If a target uses floating constants, the conversion to specifications is possible. 

6. Bug with layer delete in the Design Editor fixed.

7. Inconsistency in Project - Open - Computer and Project - Save As - Computer commands: a wrong folder was selected; fixed.

24.26

1. Design Editor now keeps layer thickness even when the related material abbreviation is not assigned: to keep physical thicknesses the Physical thicknesses checkbox should be checked; to keep optical thicknesses, Physical thicknesses checkbox should be unchecked.

2. Specifications now work with Expressions.

3. Sliders for monitoring wavelengths added to Monitoring Runsheet Editor (OM mode).

4. In Sensitivity analysis, the ability to change sort order of any column was added: sorting by sensitivity value, sorting by thickness, etc.

5. Save Design (in Results ribbon as well as in the In-Memory Editor) option enhanced: it shows a drop-down list of already available designs. Therefore it is easy to replace an already existing design by the new one.

6. Right-click drop-down list in the Environment panel enhanced: Save to Database (if Design is selected) item is added.

7. Extended expressions enhanced: non-local optimization methods (Needle Optimization and Gradual Evolution) can be used.

8. Variator shows now correct Reference Wavelength configured in the General options dialog.

9. Variator control wavelength remained at a modified position after Revert operation. Fixed.

10. If materials colors are edited in the General Options dialog and color gallery is drop-down, a click outside the color editor leads to an exception "control has no parent window". Fixed.

11. Partial Discrepancies panel remains in linear units even if dB or OD selected as Intensities: the differences should be always represented in a linear scale.

12. Default lower boundary in Substrate Characterization Model Builder (explicit formulas algorithm n,k) was replaced by 1.2 instead of 0.8. It helps to exclude degenerate solutionsю

24.25

1. Computations with new types of layer materials with optical constants dependent on film thickness, mixtures, inhomogeneous materials enhanced: materials should with with all types of targets, spectral and integral characteristics. Complex layer profiles can be specified.

2. Apply tab added to the Design Editor in the case of In-Memory Design Editor. [M] modified state appears in this case in Design section of Environment panel.

3. Gradual Evolution terminates also if merit function is very close to zero to avoid growth of design thickness (especially if targets with ranges or color targets are used).

4. Advanced Expressions feature is added. It is possible now to introduce additional target spectral characteristics shifted/scaled in AOI or in the wavelength.

5. Import from LMR (Bühler Leybold Runsheet) files added in AS, RE, and OM modes.

6. Empty names in Chips Editor in OM raised an exception. Fixed.

7. Sometimes Expressions were not listed in the Target Editor and had to be specified manually. Fixed.

8. Spectral Line Width bug fixed: if only one wavelength point was specified, calculations were not correct. More complicated line width objects (2 and more wavelength points) were processed normally. Now all cases are considered correctly.

9. Specifications of floating constants in different target pages improved.

10. Compare design feature improved.

11. Sometimes, target names in legend in plots were incorrect. Now, the target names updates, when a new target is loaded.

12. Copy Numbers enhancement: prevented situation when output range is outside the plotting range (it created empty values in the output).

13. Averaged or Integral characteristic was blank by default. Now it is always a reasonable default: RA or TS.

14. List index out of bounds error appeared if the plots in the Evaluation window are configured with column Editor or Grid Generator, and the number of plots is increased from these editors. Fixed.

15. If Compare tab is active, selection check boxes remained in some databases. Fixed.

16. The title of X-axis of the Evaluation plot was not updated on Wavelength units change. Fixed.

17. Design Editor reflects changes of material abbreviations (zero physical thicknesses). In the next version, physical thicknesses will be independent on materials changes for the case if "keep physical thicknesses" setting is active.

24.22

1. U- and g-values evaluator is implemented: single, double, and triple glazing can be configured and evaluated. The values can be chosen in the Values panel and can be changed interactively if Variator is in use. Computations are performed according to DIN EN410 standard.

2. Arbitrary model algorithm of substrate characterization is further enhanced.

3. Expressions editor is enhanced.

4. Further enhancement of Monte-Carlo simulations: faster plotting for the number of tests exceeding 200.

5. Monte-Carlo simulations with loaded specifications raised an exception. Fixed.

6. Exponential model for Im(n) in Characterization is more smart now: the algorithm avoids degenerate solutions.

24.20

1. Specifications and ability to use spectral specifications is implemented. You can create a specs-target and use it to verify, whether your spectral characteristics are inside of allowed specifications. Quality parameters is added.

2. Jumps settings is implemented in Multi-Start algorithm (Design Vicinity mode). It controls, whether a better design will replace the initial one in the course of Multi-Start optimization.

3. Multi-Start was not possible if no design loaded to memory (Include Materials selection was empty). Fixed.

4. COM: added MaterialFromAbbreviation read-only property to MemoryMaterials collection. It allows to obtain a layer material using abbreviation.

5. Expressions added to the Design Report.

24.19

1. A very powerful set of Expressions features developed: now it is possible to optimize expressions such as Ts/Tp, Rp/Rs, Rs-Rp, Ts-Tp, etc. It is possible to arrange complex building blocks from the optimized spectral characteristics.  Expressions include arithmetical operations connecting spectral characteristics, constants, and already known expressions.

2. Expressions can be used also integral targets and in value evaluations. It is possible to apply instant analysis to expression along with spectral characteristics, colors, and integral values. Expressions enhance significantly analysis and synthesis options.

3. Additional plot for Expressions is implemented: curves in the Expression Evaluation plot are also updated if a target with expression is loaded.

4. Bugs fixed in Monte-Carlo simulations.

5. Too large font sizes of all plots, if the project is transferred from computer with high DPI to another computer with lower DPI

6. Selection (red color curve) of the layer in Monitoring Spreadsheet was sometimes not synchronized with the position in the spreadsheet.

7. Optical losses: small fonts of the warning at high DPI screens. Font sizes increased.

24.17

1. Logarithmic and Diabatic scales in evaluation plots implemented.

2. Plotting is significantly improved. Contrasts are improved. Scaling in multi-monitoring environment is enhanced. More convenient graphics.

3. Swing computations in optical monitoring mode improved: with large correction factors, swing sometimes was replaced with NAN symbol (Not-A-Number).

4. Fixed rare exception in optical monitoring mode. It appeared only when ESC key was pressed twice in editing mode of some Runsheet cell.

5. Improvement in on-the-fly analysis: modified design status maintained correctly, the state of the Revert button is defined by the internal state of the variator.

6. The width of Design/Model Builder at displays with high resolution was not enough.

7. Values panel: sometimes color values were calculated with incorrect characteristic (TS instead of RS).

8. Fixed set of bugs in optical monitoring mode: in some configurations the design was not possible to load, sometimes vacuum materials were not taken into account correctly.

24.15

1. Values panel with versatile configuration and representation of multiple values (integrated and averaged spectral characteristics, integrated and averaged color coordinates) implemented. Integral values in Values panel now take into account unit settings.

2. A dialog to configure weight factors of different targets added. It is accessible from Environment panel either through the special button on the top, or right-click menu.

3.  Re(n) and Im(n) can be displayed in the Substrate and Layer Material tables. It can be controlled individually (top left corner) or centralized in configuration settings panel. These columns allow easy filtering of the data.

4. Seven new substrates added to the Catalog.

5. Witness Chip configuration dialog has now more convenient editing features (Enter key, Column Editor F6).

6. The visibility states of the Design Editor columns is now preserved in the layout configuration.

7. Offset was lost, if a material was saved together with reverse-engineered design. Fixed.

8. Plot bug in the Materials (Style, Color) column in the configuration window, visible during scrolling. Fixed.

9. Substrate characterization is now always possible, even if no substrate loaded to Environment.

10. After closing and opening Design Builder displayed an empty panel. Fixed.

11. Design [M] flag remained all the time, even after a design from the database is loaded (Environment panel). Fixed.

12. If vacuum materials are used in optical monitoring Runsheet, design thicknesses changed a bit after saving the runsheet to the database. Fixed. The problem was related to using optical thicknesses as intermediate values. Now OM mode uses physical thicknesses in all cases.

13. Design Editor in OM mode sometimes didn't allow to edit the design, complaining that materials are not loaded. Fixed.

24.12

1. Full support of Apple M1 - M3 ARM-based processors.

2. Integral target values can be also computed with trapezoid numerical formula. Trapezoid integration method added to Integral Target settings.

3. In Plots settings: Added "Adjust Range on Integral Target Load Operation" option.

4. Added Report options in order to configure the output spectral grid.

5. Added "Target Grid" or "Measurement Grid" to "Copy Numbers" right-click menu. It allows to extract values for target/measurement wavelength grid points.

6. Measurement preprocessing bug: when the number of points in the measurement was reduced, ellipsometric angle Delta become 0.0. Fixed.

7. COM examples (C#, Python, Matlab) extended and updated.

8. COM update: Wait function added to IInfo interface to allow waiting for computation completion.

9. Fixed Access Violation error if environment mode switched from analysis/synthesis to another, and Multi-Coating mode was Active.

10. Improvement in Combine measurements: the operation can now work with any types and combinations of measurement files.

11. Improved of design cross section panel in the case of designs with extremely large number of layers (>1000). 

24.10

1. Extension of the Python COM example, more calls, properties, and functions demonstrated.

2. Enhancement of the Python COM example: the example demonstrates now also reverse engineering operations.

3. In reverse engineering and characterization: Preprocessing of the measurements enhanced: ability to reduce the number of measurement points added.

4. Enhancement in reverse engineering and characterization: Preprocess command added to the Measurement Editor (with the ability to Revert Back preprocessing action).

5. Added Delete Row, Insert Above, Insert Below, Select Row commands to the right-click drop-down menu of all Editors (Measurement, Target, Design, etc.)

6. In reverse engineering and characterization: import from VON ARDENNE file format implemented.

7. ARM support provided for both 32 and 64 versions. It is possible to use OTF Studio at M1-M3 Apple ARM processors (Windows for ARM under Parallels 19).

8. For complicated multi-page targets/measurements the legend in the Evaluation/Fitting plots was not correct. Fixed.

9. Using "Del" and some other hotkeys in the Environment window caused Exceptions in some cases. Fixed.

10. Extinction coefficients formula coefficients added to the Report.

11. Rename items and copy items now uses case-sensitive check, i.e., it is possible to change only the capitalization of any name.

12. Avoiding x-axis settings reset after updating OTF Studio configuration.

13. Plots are now updated after change of "Apply Source and Detector to R/T values" option in the OTF Studio settings panel.

14. Maximum number of points in one page of Measurements/Targets increased up to 32768.

15. Integral targets and Integral Values in the Design report are now dependent on the setting "Apply Source and Detector to R/T Values"

16. COM function getModelThicknesses returned thicknesses in µm, ignoring current units settings. Fixed.

 24.09

1. Multi-Start Generator: added an opportunity to select a material for the first layer (the layer closest to the substrate). It can be selected from (i) the list of loaded materials, (ii) specified as the most contrast with respect to the substrate, and (iii) specified as any available (random selection).

2. Formula editor enhancement: it is now possible to specify the central wavelength for selected groups of layers, different from the reference wavelength of the entire design.

3. Enhancement of the Variator (Analysis on the fly): Ctrl+Alt+C hotkey and "Revert Value" (right click drop-down menu) allows to revert back any single thickness changed in the Variator

4. Enhancement of the Variator (Analysis on the fly): Surroundings Group added to the Variator: it allows to change substrate and incident medium refractive index offsets.

5. Enhancement of the Variator (Analysis on the fly): Control Wavelength added to the Correction Factors Group.

6. Enhancement of the Variator (Analysis on the fly) in the reverse engineering: it is possible to present layer thicknesses in quarter-waves (QW mode).

7. Monte-Carlo simulations enhanced: it is now possible to specify Re(n) standard deviation in %.

8. Import from Essential Macleod improved: imported Design was not saved to the Design database. Fixed.

9. Import from TFCalc improved: Access Violation problem at some files. Fixed.

10. Weight factors of target specified DSG files were wrong imported. Fixed.

11. Inconsistencies in naming and order of Im(n) Exponential models in characterization and reverse engineering fixed.

12. Control wavelength changes in the Variator also updates the wavelength at which refractive indices are evaluated for other Variator parts (Substrate, Incidence medium).

13. Monte-Carlo settings of x, y axes are consistent for both pages (Show Statistics = On and Off) and also are correctly saved in the Project configuration.

14. New COM interfaces implemented: added clear, clearAll, copy, rename functions to the databases. Added addPage, setDesign methods to the In-Memory interfaces. Added clear and getRenFormula, getImnFormula methods to the reverse engineering model interface.

15. Improvement in Multi-Start Generator:  prevented user-interface flooding, if the design problem is simple and too many solutions are generated each second.

24.08

1. Adjust Plots on Target/Measurement Load option (Settings ribbon - General options - Plots - Check box "Adjust Plots on Target/Measurement Load").

2. Apply spectra (light source, detector) to R/T values (Settings ribbon - General options - Plots - Check box "Apply source and Detector to R/T values").

3. Added thickness values to the hover panel in the Design Cross-Section panel.

4. Logic of plotting changed: not the theoretical curve is adjusted to local x-limits and replotted on their change with 300ms delay (to avoid too frequent updates).

5. Model report displayed a wrong substrate name and data in some cases. Fixed.

6. When a new target is loaded and the number of plots is therefore changed, "Qty" value (right panel of the evaluation) remains the same. Fixed.

24.07

1. COM Automation interfaces are now available in OTF Studio. C# example is implemented. COM interfaces allows you to use OTF Studio algorithms in your own applications.

2. GD/GDD/Phase Generator Tool added to the Target Editor.

3. Target Generator Tool added to the Target Editor.

24.05

1. Export to OpTaliX improved.

2. Target/Measurement editors improved: when another characteristic is entered, the values of the changed column are preserved instead of using default values.

3. Size of the main panel after restart was a bit different each time. Fixed.

4. A bug on Save Layer in characterization fixed: if offset model was used, the offset was added.

24.03

1. Improved import from RefractiveIndex.Info: for glasses, the most informative part of the title goes now into the  substrate/material name, while the rest goes in the comment.

2. Changing abbreviations in the Environment panel reflects in the selected materials in the Design Builder.

3. Changing abbreviations in General Options dialog had no effect. Bug fixed.

4. One-offset model in characterization was not working properly. Fixed.

24.02

1. Materials group added to General Options panel. It is possible to configure materials representation (colors,  style) in all modes.

2. Icons and material colors, styles added to the Environment panel.

24.01

1. Multi-Coating configuration support allows you to design complex coatings for laser applications: complementary mirror pairs, double-angle for dispersive mirrors. Flexible settings.

2. Added support of processors without AVX2. 

3. Help can be opened with Help command at the Help Ribbon.

23.89

1. Fixed a bug in the measurement configuration dialog.

2. ODX import had a problem when imported into a project with already configured environment, especially of materials were different from the loaded ones. Fixed.

3. Loaded materials in the Environment panel become blank when changing them. Fixed.

23.87

1. Prevented the situation when a design has 2 layers of the same material not combined together.

2. Fixed bug in the Design Report: wrong QWOT values.

3. Improved Gradual Evolution algorithm with settings, where the new layers are inserted.

4. Improved Needle optimization: inserted a layer inside a fixed layer excluded. Fixed. 

5. Added a possibility to exclude layers from the optical monitoring runsheet .

6. Advanced Needle optimization: materials can be active and inactive.

23.86

1. Tooltips feature with markers in the Evaluation plots is implemented. Tooltips show all values presented at the plot with markers.

23.85

1. Line Width was not available in the Environment Panel. Fixed.

2. Reports extended with more detailed information on loaded objects. Added Save as Text comment to the drop-down menus of the Report tabs at the Results ribbon.

3. Added Floating Constants to the computational part and to the Target Editor. Characteristics Selector dialog completely redesigned.

4. In Color Evaluation,  color coordinate system selection was not updated, if preferred color system in Settings ribbon is changed. Fixed.

5. Save object to the database with an existing name (overwrite mode) worked in a wrong way: a different object was overwritten. Fixed.

6. Design Builder has now a footer with a total coating thicknesses. Hint window shows also total  thicknesses for each material.

7. Design Editor now doesn't allow to change the material abbreviation to not-loaded materials if the Design Editor is opened in the In-Memory editor.

23.84

1. On-the-fly analysis (Variator) added to Synthesis ribbon and to the Design Builder. On-the-fly analysis can be applied to spectral characteristics, colors, and electric field.

23.83

1. Copy Numbers option operates also in the electric field panel.

2. Tooltips operate now in electric field panel.

3. Bug in Integral Target optimization fixed.

4. Import of Agilent files showed one less trace than required. Fixed.

5. Monte-Carlo simulations: a bug of target representation fixed.

6. Scale settings inconsistencies in Evaluation and Monte-Carlo plots fixed.

23.82

1. Bug in Optimization with groups fixed.

2. Corrected the format of angles in the legend and in the "Copy Numbers" option to increase the number of digits.

3. Electric field analysis options is developed (View ribbon). It is possible to change all settings using right panel and to adjust the ranges and the types of output. It is also possible to see E-field intensity and E-field phase, s- and p- polarization.

4. Export to Report of large values (GDD, for example) sometimes created overlapped numbers in the output. Fixed.

5. Ability to configure the tabular representation in Report outputs (Model menu at the Results ribbon). It is also possible to specify Measurement wavelength grid as the grid for the dispersion output.

23.79

1. Compare designs feature (View Ribbon) added. Now, it is possible to compare spectral characteristics of the designs from the design table as well as the designs from History and Collection panels.

2. Horizontal scroll bar added to Target/Measurement editors.

3. A computational degradation of performance in cases when some materials were using Spline interpolation fixed.

4. Better visual feedback in the Layer Model Builder: disabled parts of the model are now shown in gray color.

5. Corrected Layer Model Builder problem: when no models are active, in some cases the discrepancy is increased after Fit action.

6. It was possible to select 1 or even 0 materials from multi-start optimization. Fixed. At least 2 materials should be selected for multi-start correct operations.

7. In some cases merit function (MF) was displayed as "n/a" in the main status bar, even if some valid targets were loaded. Fixed.

8. In some cases, after gradual evolution it was not possible to select constraints for some materials, especially when they were excluded/included to Active list. Fixed.

9. Added check for at least 2 materials before gradual evolution starts.

10. If design is edited without layer materials in the memory, it creates Access Violation errors. Fixed.

11. Copy Numbers added to OM plots.

12. MOCCA export adjusted to conform better MOCCA specifications (rate, fixed layers attributes - "non-optical-control").

13. The caption of "New Item Name" form is also updates in accordance of database type selected in this dialog.

23.77

1. Fixed a bug in the Substrate characterization. This bug significantly decreased the efficiency of non-parametric model.

2. In rare cases, Access violation problems were possible, if Monte Carlo computations were running, and the Monte Carlo panel is closed. Fixed.

3. Import of Agilent measurements improved: now it is possible to import traces one by one without closing Import dialog.

4. Added import of designs from Essential Macleod files.

23.76

1. Tooltips feature added to the Evaluation plots.

2. Added SVG and EMF export format to the list of "Save Chart" command (Results ribbon).

3. Copy Numbers feature added: it is available at the right-click drop-down menu of Evaluation and Fitting plots. 

4. Several display bugs in OM mode fixed: non scaled data in the plots were used.

5. Tooltips format (the number of digits) is dependent now on the selected units, argument values are also shown.

23.75

1. Added Color Rendering Index to Color values.

2. Fixed scaling problem in Integral Target part of the merit function.

3. Sensitivity analysis feature added.

4. Problem with positions of secondary dialogs at multi-monitor systems fixed.

23.72

1. Optical Monitoring runsheet created.

2. Export to OpTaliX, FRED, and CODE V added.

3. Legend visibility is now save correctly in the project layout.

4. It is possible to select the whole response column data in the Design Runsheet report.

5. Response values are now copied to clipboard without control characters.

6. Color diagram and color values are completed. 

7. Now it is required to save a modified design before switching to OM mode. It removes potential inconsistencies.

23.71

1. In some cases Design Cleaner finished with the same material layers being next to each other. Now such layers are combined together.

23.68

1. ODX file support added: import and export.

2. Import of TFCalc files added.

3. Import and export of DSG files (SPEKTRUM software from LZH).

4. Integral Targets load problem when a spectrum with a special character is used (", &, etc).

5. Reports are now refreshed automatically (with a delay, to save CPU resources).

6. Report becomes empty if it is docked/undocked to another location with mouse. Fixed.

7. OM - Optical Monitoring - Witness Chip config dialog and OM mode added.

8. Specs targets were not displayed correctly: only low limit was shown.

9. Potential infinite loop on any attempt to Terminate a processing in Deep Search mode. Fixed.

10. Better current status updates (Evaluation, Design Cross section) during synthesis processing. It is now performed at least each 5 seconds.

11. Problems with "Fixed" status of layer thickness found and improved.

12. Refractiveindex.info database updated to the newest state of October 2023.

13. Help updated (introduction, examples). The number of Examples is extended up to 43.

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