Optical Interface Color Guide

Component Editor Visual System

All optical interfaces are now displayed as colored lines in the component editor. The color indicates the interface type:

Interface Colors

Refractive Objects

Color RGB Interface Type Description
🔵 Blue (100, 100, 255) Refractive Interface Normal glass-air boundary (n1 ≠ n2)
🟢 Green (0, 150, 120) Beam Splitter Partially reflecting coating
🟣 Purple (150, 0, 150) PBS Polarizing beam splitter
⚪ Gray (150, 150, 150) Same Index n1 = n2 (boundary with no refraction)

Simple Components (Calibration Lines)

Color RGB Component Type
🔵 Cyan (0, 180, 180) Lens
đźź  Orange (255, 140, 0) Mirror
🟢 Green (0, 150, 120) Beam Splitter
🟣 Magenta (255, 0, 255) Dichroic Filter

Visual Examples

Beam Splitter Cube (BS Cube Preset)

When you create a BS cube preset, you’ll see:

  • 4 blue lines forming the square perimeter (glass-air surfaces)
  • 1 green diagonal line (beam splitter coating at 45°)
     Top (blue)
    ╱─────────╲
   ╱  ╱green╲  ╲ Right (blue)
  ╱  ╱  BS   ╲  ╲
 ╱  ╱  45°    ╲  ╲
╱──╱───────────╲──╲
Left (blue)  Bottom (blue)

PBS Cube

Same geometry as BS cube, but:

  • 4 blue lines for glass-air surfaces
  • 1 purple diagonal line for the polarizing coating

Custom Refractive Object

Example: Prism with 3 surfaces

  • 3 blue lines at angles forming a triangular prism
  • Each line can be dragged independently to adjust geometry

Color Changes Dynamically

When you edit an interface’s properties:

  • Change is_beam_splitter to True → line turns green
  • Enable is_polarizing → line turns purple
  • Change n1 to match n2 → line turns gray
  • Reset to normal refraction → line turns blue

Usage Tips

  1. Hover over endpoints to see crosshair cursor
  2. Click and drag any endpoint to reposition
  3. Click on a line to select it (highlighted in list)
  4. Select in list to highlight on canvas
  5. Color indicates type at a glance

Accessibility Note

For users who have difficulty distinguishing colors, the interface list provides text descriptions:

  • “Interface 1: BS n=1.000→1.520 T/R=50/50” (green line)
  • “Interface 2: n=1.000→1.520” (blue line)
  • “Interface 3: PBS n=1.520→1.520 T/R=0/100” (purple line)

You can always double-click an interface in the list to see its full properties, regardless of color.