Accuracy of color determination from spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements

In many coating and display applications, quantitative determination of the sample color is required. Standard procedures exist for converting an experimentally measured reflectivity spectrum into color coordinates such as CIE L*a*b*. In this paper we evaluate CIE L*a*b* color coordinates using a reflectivity spectrum which is calculated from an optical model determined by a spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) analysis of the sample. The accuracy of the SE-determined color coordinates are compared with traditional color measurements, and the advantages of using SE for color determination are discussed.