Optics and modeling of advanced interference effect pigments

 
Over the past decade, or so, interference effect pigments have evolved from simple single crystals or simple coated substrates to advanced multilayer optical structures. These advanced structures have led to enhanced optical properties such as high chroma and color travel. In contrast to a simple interference pigment with only one optical layer, multilayer optical structures have complex optics where all of the optical layers work together to create the resultant interference. To aid in understanding how these multilayer interference effect pigments work, and to understand how to design them, it is important to understand the optics behind them. This presentation will go into the optics of multilayer interference effect pigments to demonstrate where their advanced optical properties come from and how to design them.