Volatility Surface
The MesoSim Volatility Surface viewer shows how Implied Volatility varies across option strikes and expirations. Use the 3D surface for the broader picture and the Volatility Smile panel to examine one expiration.
See Accounts and Access for feature availability. For the underlying's summary volatility measures and IV filters, see Implied and Historical Volatility.
Get started
- Open the Volatility Surface viewer.
- Choose a Symbol and Type: Calls or Puts.
- Select Single Day and a date, or Multiple Days with a date range and selected times.
- Set Vol Smile DTE to the maturity you want to inspect. Use Range Filters to focus on relevant strikes and days to expiration.
- Click Apply when changes are pending, then inspect the charts or start playback.
Read the charts
3D surface
| Dimension | Meaning |
|---|---|
| X: Strike | Option strike price |
| Y: DTE | Days to expiration |
| Z: Implied Volatility | The height of the volatility surface |
| Color | The measure selected in Color by |
Hover over the surface to inspect strike, DTE, IV, and the selected color metric. Compare strikes to examine the volatility smile or skew; compare maturities to examine the term structure.
Changing Color by changes the overlay while the surface height continues to show Implied Volatility. Read the color scale's label and units when switching measures.
Volatility Smile
The smile panel shows IV by strike on the left axis, expressed as a percentage, and Open Interest on the right axis. A spot-price line and marker help locate the underlying relative to the available strikes.
Vol Smile DTE selects a target maturity. The viewer uses the nearest available expiration and displays its actual DTE in the chart title.
A target of 30 DTE does not guarantee an expiration exactly 30 days away. Check the displayed DTE when comparing frames or dates.
Choose the view
| Control | Use it to |
|---|---|
| Symbol / Type | Select the underlying and Calls or Puts. The symbol list excludes legacy crypto options. |
| Color by | Choose Implied Volatility, Open Interest, Volume, Bid-Ask Spread, Gamma Exposure, Delta, Gamma, Theta, or Vega. |
| Color scheme | Choose a palette that makes the selected overlay easy to read. |
| Vol Smile DTE | Choose the target maturity for the smile panel. |
| Smoothing | Interpolate the data onto a regular grid for a more continuous surface. |
| Range Filters | Set optional minimum and maximum strikes and DTE. A 3D surface needs at least two strikes and two expirations. |
| Apply | Apply pending changes to the selected data and view. |
| Refresh | Reload the current view. |
Smoothing helps display sparse or irregular data. Use it alongside the available data points when interpreting the shape of the surface.
Follow changes with playback
- Single Day: follows preset intraday frames, starting at 09:35 and then every 30 minutes from 10:00 through 16:00.
- Multiple Days: follows a start/end date range using one or more selected times. The time choices run from 09:35 to 16:00 in five-minute increments.
Use Play and Pause to animate the sequence, Previous / Next to step through individual frames, and Loop to repeat it. The status bar identifies the displayed timestamp and frame number, so you can connect a change in the chart with its date and time.
Start with a short date range and a few times, then expand the view as needed. If a frame has no data, check the selected date and range filters before interpreting the empty chart.
Use the view in your research
- Smile and skew: compare IV across strikes at a selected maturity, then step through frames to see how the shape changes.
- Term structure: compare shorter and longer maturities on the surface.
- Liquidity indicators: use Open Interest, Volume, and Bid-Ask Spread to examine activity and quoted spreads across the chain.
- Option sensitivities: use the Greeks and Gamma Exposure overlays to locate concentrations and compare them across frames.
To turn an observation into a testable strategy rule, see Trade filtering by Implied Volatility and the Script Engine variable reference. Explore strategy walkthroughs on the Deltaray blog and learn more about Deltaray.