Complex software made easy
Sign up, and work in any browser on any OS. No install, add-ons, dongles, or license files to mess with.
Features
Design, model, simulate, review, and monitor production in one browser workflow.
Validated design features
Design anti-reflection coatings, filters and mirrors with a solver validated against closed-form results. Optimize your designs or synthesize coatings from constraints.
Advanced analysis tools baked in
Run Monte-Carlo simlulations for yield; calculate the stress/bow and thermal drift, admittance, ultrafast/nonlinear effects, and more all from the same stack.
Version control baked in
Accelerate design cycles with version control where each change is a revision. Release designs with review, electronic signatures and full traceability and automatically push to PLM.
Built for collaboration
No one designs in a vacuum - share team workspaces and material libraries and keep everyone on the same page on analytics, modeling, or reports.
Production & automation
Integrate your MES to pull data for Reverse engineer measured spectra, use run sheets, optical monitoring and deposition controller export, or script designs over the API.
How it compares
Legend: ✓ included, add-on extra-cost module , ✗ not offered
| Thin Film Forge | Essential Macleod | OptiLayer | TFCalc | OTF Studio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buying and running it | |||||
| Price published | From $150 / mo | Quote | Quote | Quote | Quote |
| Platforms | Any browser: Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows | Windows | Windows (32-bit) | Windows; macOS and Linux through Wine or a VM |
| Runs on your own network, offline | ✓ on-prem hosting | ✓ desktop | ✓ desktop | ✓ desktop | ✓ desktop |
| Design | |||||
| Refinement and needle synthesis | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Color, GD / GDD and phase targets | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| E-field and admittance | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| GRIN and rugate | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ rugate |
| Tolerancing, Monte-Carlo yield | ✓ | ✓ error analysis | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Stress, bow and thermal drift | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ stress |
| Ultrafast pulses, nonlinear phase matching | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Scripting and automation | ✓ HTTP/Python API | Function | COM Automation | TFCalc DLL | Plugins |
| Extra cost | |||||
| All features included in base software | ✓ | ✗ Runsheet, Monitorlink, Simulator, vStack, Function, DWDM Assistant | ✗ OptiChar, OptiRE, OptiReOpt, COM Automation | ✗ TFCalc DLL, TFCalc/WDM | ✗ taReo |
| Production | |||||
| Reverse engineering, optical constants | ✓ | ✓ | OptiChar, OptiRE | ✓ index fitting | ✓ |
| Optical monitoring simulation | ✓ | Simulator | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Run sheets, deposition controller export | ✓ | Runsheet, Monitorlink | OptiReOpt | ✗ | taReo |
| SPC: Cpk and control charts on measured runs | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| MES link: webhooks, measured runs back | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Collaboration and Design Control | |||||
| Revision history, reproducible from frozen data | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Release review, electronic signatures | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Shared workspace, free reviewer seats | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| SSO, SCIM, audit log | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |