This material science sector is provided with a lot of high-end measurements
You have methods for film evaluation that measure a transmission with laser diffraction or other light sources, I think you can measure transmissions also in more simpler ways with a photosensitive cell, a scanner a camera or another optical standard device or simply just by comparing per eye.
You have cryogenic methods with electron microscopes that show differences in
the film microstrucuture
The micromechanic testings are technically more difficult and complex, maybe papers like that contain more practical tips: