Inverse Engineering of Optical Constants in Photochromic Micron-Scale Hybrid Films

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Hauptverfasser: Danis, Bahrem Serhat, Mohseni, Amin Tabatabaei, Karazhanov, Smagul, Zayim, Esra
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2026
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author Danis, Bahrem Serhat
Mohseni, Amin Tabatabaei
Karazhanov, Smagul
Zayim, Esra
author_facet Danis, Bahrem Serhat
Mohseni, Amin Tabatabaei
Karazhanov, Smagul
Zayim, Esra
contents Photochromic materials enable dynamic optical modulation through reversible transitions between distinct absorption states, with broad potential for smart windows, adaptive optics, and reconfigurable photonic devices. Micron-scale photochromic hybrid films present a particularly attractive platform for these applications, combining straightforward preparation with substantial optical modulation and scalability for high-volume fabrication. However, rational design of such films remains fundamentally constrained by the absence of well-defined optical constants. Unlike homogeneous thin films, micron-scale hybrid photochromic materials comprise active particles dispersed non-uniformly within polymer matrices. Conventional first-principles electromagnetic simulations face substantial computational costs and discrepancies between simulated and experimental particle distributions. Here, we introduce a data-driven framework that extracts effective optical constants directly from minimal experimental transmittance measurements. Our dual-state effective model approximates the complex inhomogeneous photochromic layer as a compressed homogeneous medium characterized by pseudo-refractive indices and pseudo-extinction coefficients for both pristine and UV-irradiated states. Through systematic optimization against experimental data from tungsten oxide-polyvinylpyrrolidone hybrid films, we determine wavelength-dependent pseudo-optical constants and compression ratios that enable accurate prediction of optical modulation within the tested thickness range. Our methodology establishes a framework for engineering hybrid photochromic systems and demonstrates how data-driven modeling can overcome limitations in characterizing complex nanostructured materials.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_16180
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Inverse Engineering of Optical Constants in Photochromic Micron-Scale Hybrid Films
Danis, Bahrem Serhat
Mohseni, Amin Tabatabaei
Karazhanov, Smagul
Zayim, Esra
Computational Physics
Applied Physics
Optics
Photochromic materials enable dynamic optical modulation through reversible transitions between distinct absorption states, with broad potential for smart windows, adaptive optics, and reconfigurable photonic devices. Micron-scale photochromic hybrid films present a particularly attractive platform for these applications, combining straightforward preparation with substantial optical modulation and scalability for high-volume fabrication. However, rational design of such films remains fundamentally constrained by the absence of well-defined optical constants. Unlike homogeneous thin films, micron-scale hybrid photochromic materials comprise active particles dispersed non-uniformly within polymer matrices. Conventional first-principles electromagnetic simulations face substantial computational costs and discrepancies between simulated and experimental particle distributions. Here, we introduce a data-driven framework that extracts effective optical constants directly from minimal experimental transmittance measurements. Our dual-state effective model approximates the complex inhomogeneous photochromic layer as a compressed homogeneous medium characterized by pseudo-refractive indices and pseudo-extinction coefficients for both pristine and UV-irradiated states. Through systematic optimization against experimental data from tungsten oxide-polyvinylpyrrolidone hybrid films, we determine wavelength-dependent pseudo-optical constants and compression ratios that enable accurate prediction of optical modulation within the tested thickness range. Our methodology establishes a framework for engineering hybrid photochromic systems and demonstrates how data-driven modeling can overcome limitations in characterizing complex nanostructured materials.
title Inverse Engineering of Optical Constants in Photochromic Micron-Scale Hybrid Films
topic Computational Physics
Applied Physics
Optics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.16180