AbstractThe birefringence analysis of thin m SiO₂ films deposited via evaporation at a glancing angle of to the normal on resist pillar arrays on Si and nanopatterned SiO₂ substrates is carried out by spectral and color (red–green–blue [RGB]) imaging modes. Retardance and birefringence of the films deposited over flat and structured regions can be distinguished with only ≈1% difference between neighboring regions for the visible spectral range using RGB numerical analysis of images. The Michel‐Lévy color map is used for color rendering of birefringence to make quantitative measurements by numerical RGB color filtering. It is shown that by using at 530 nm waveplate inserted at angle to the cross polarizer‐analyzer setup, the range of changes in chromaticity xy‐coordinates expands approximately twice upon angular rotation of a birefringent sample. This facilitates a better signal‐to‐noise determination of birefringence. The proposed method with ‐plate color shifting can be directly used to determine birefringence from step‐like spectral features in reflection and transmission polariscopy. Direct measurement of birefringence () and retardance of SiO₂ chevron film is carried out using Berek compensator as a benchmark.