Understanding Non-Homogeneous Material
A non-homogeneous material is the association between a graded material file and a solid body using a coordinate system.
The goal is to define the index of refraction and/or absorption for specific locations in the material volume.
Graded Material
The Graded Material file describes the spectral variations of refractive index and/or absorption regarding the position in space.
As each wavelength propagates differently in a medium according to the refractive index and/or the absorption, you need for each wavelength:
- a 3D table representing the refractive index variation in space (V list)
- a 3D table representing the absorption variation in space (W list)
Non-Homogeneous Material Result Example
Maximum Number of Surface Interactions
Maximum number of surface interactions has a direct impact on the length of the propagation.
The minimum length of one 3D zone is considered for the propagation: 5% of this length is used to calculate the propagation step. It means that the status of the ray is checked every 5% of the minimum length of one 3D zone and its direction is changed according to the refractive index variation.
When the 3D table representing the variation has a high resolution, the Maximum number of surface interactions option must be high (otherwise rays are stopped) and it has a direct impact on the simulation time.
Maximum number of surface interactions = 100 | Maximum number of surface interactions = 500 | Maximum number of surface interactions = 5000 |