Bidirectional reflectance measurements over a micrometric surface area using a goniospectrophotometer.

The increasing use of a spatially varying bidirectional reflectance distribution function (svBRDF) to describe the appearance of an object raises the important question of how BRDF values change when measured on a small scale. For this reason, we present a new goniospectrophotometer with the ability to measure the BRDF at the micrometer scale (μBRDF). The instrument produces BRDF measurements with a measurement surface diameter of 31 µm.

Optical and Electromechanical Design and Implementation of an Advanced Multispectral Device to Capture Material Appearance.

The application of materials with changing visual properties with lighting and observation directions has found broad utility across diverse industries, from architecture and fashion to automotive and film production. The expanding array of applications and appearance reproduction requirements emphasizes the critical role of material appearance measurement and surface characterization. Such measurements offer twofold benefits in soft proofing and product quality control, reducing errors and material waste while providing objective quality assessment.

Investigating the optical translucency of Spectralon using BSSRDF measurements.

Translucent materials have the property of reflecting light beyond the illumination point due to subsurface light propagation in the material. These reflectance properties can be characterized using the bidirectional scattering-surface reflectance distribution function (BSSRDF), a radiometric quantity that is a function of spatial, angular, spectral, and polarization parameters. At very small scales, we have observed that Spectralon, a commercial material widely used as a diffuse reflectance calibration standard, can be regarded as translucent.

Intercomparison of bidirectional reflectance distribution function measurements at in- and out-of-plane geometries.

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the measurements of the bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) in industry and research and development. However, there is currently no dedicated key comparison to demonstrate the scale conformity. To date, scale conformity has been proved only for classical in-plane geometries, in comparisons between different national metrology institutes (NMIs) and designated institutes (DIs).