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3319 Topics
CJ27
CJ27Student
asked in Got a question?
Importing freeform surface via grid sag - Data changing

Hello there friends from the Zemax community, I have a freeform surface which was obtained via an external numerical routine. My numerical routine provides me with the surface sag information (x and y coordinates and the associated surface height).I have tried importing this surface into a sequential mode system via a grid sag object. However, I can observe that the surface profile changes depending on the distance set between my previous surface and the imported freeform surface. I would expect the surface to have the same extension always, isnt it?  Any comment or feedback will be highly appreciated!  

752
CJ27
10 months ago
Aruntv
AruntvMonochrome
asked in Got a question?
Applying surface properties to the components in an optical assembly

Hi team,Usually, our customer provides one step file for an optical assembly (Series of lenses). By using other softwares like tracepro, we can apply surfaces properties to individual components in the assembly. Here my question is, is it possible to apply individual components of an optical assembly, in non-sequential mode of zemax, without using any external cad softwares.Broader application is illumination analysis.Thanks in advance,Regards,Arun 

692
Aruntv
10 months ago
N
Naif.AlsalemInfrared
asked in Got a question?
How to tilt and/ or decentre an off-axis mirror in a two-mirror telescope?

Dear all,I'm grabbing with a simple small telescope that consists of two mirrors. They are described in a paper and here is its snippet:  With these parameters, i tried to build it in zemax as shown in the following screenshot:  and clearly i do not fully understand how to control the coordinate breaks although I looked up several examples but I think each one is unique.  The Zemax file is in the attachment and I would appreciate any guidance or direction to produce similar layout as the one in the paper. The coordinate break feature is something Im trying to quickly grasp and master. Kind Regards         

942
N
10 months ago
M
makroInfrared
asked in Got a question?
Get the maximum ray angle impinging onto the image plane in sequential mode

Hello,Is there an operand to get the maximum ray angle impinging onto the image plane (relative to surface normal) in sequential mode ?I know about the operands listed in help section Constraints on Real Ray Data, but they require setting normalized pupil coordinates Px/Py first. Marko

2252
M
10 months ago
mtnyosefi
mtnyosefiSingle Emitter
asked in Got a question?
Lateral Color Discontinuity

Hi,I have a problem while performing the lateral color analysis of my optical system.Everything seems to go right, the MTF calculates as expected and all of the rays trace to the image plane.While using the lateral color analysis, i get the following discontinuity:  Could you help me find the reason for that?

1113
Mark.Nicholson
Luminary
10 months ago
Yadong.Wang
Yadong.WangVisible
asked in Got a question?
Vignetting factors for zoom lens with multi-configuration settings

Hello Zemaxers!I encountered some issues when working with zoom lens with multiconfiguration settings defined using THIC (different Zooms) and YFIE (Field Height). I noticed that when the “Set Vignetting” is applied. Despite there are multiple Configs, the Vignetting factors will only applied to the current active configuration, and apply the same vig factors for all other configs. I did some reading in the help files, I guess the operands like FVCX, FVXY, FCDX, FVDY could be used in the editor for each configurations. There is also a FVAN which I am unsure about how to use.  My question is that rather than this manual entering vig factors for 3 Fields for multiple configurations, is there a smart work around in this case? Regards,Yadong

1665
MichaelH
Luminary
10 months ago
Ign.Cho
Ign.ChoStudent
asked in Got a question?
Tolerancing an off axis mirror with Zemax 13

Hi everyone,I am working on mirror system, consisted of two OAP mirror at the front (sketch below). I’m looking for a way to make a tolerancing analysis - especially irregularity of surface. Do anyone knows and can explain how the irregularity would be calculated if my elements are part of “parent” mirrors? How can I correctly analyse the manufacturing? The only thing I was found it’s: But the problem is that my program version (Zemax 13) does not support Composite surfaces. Thanks in advance for any helpIC

1493
MichaelH
Luminary
10 months ago
Siddharth
SiddharthSingle Emitter
asked in Licensing and Installation
How to use license on a different machine

Our company has a license for Ansys Zemax OpticStudio Pro. One license for one system. Its a license that starts with 1-#####.Now we want to use this license on a different computer then the computer we currently use. I could install Ansys Zemax optics studio on this new computer but its not clear how to “transfer” the lciense. Can someone advice?ThanksSiddharth 

932
Siddharth
10 months ago
H
Hanshin.LeeSingle Emitter
asked in Got a question?
Ansys ZOS (2023 R2.02) STEP export missing bodies and rays

Hello, I am having issues with ZOS CAD export function in Ansys ZOS 2023 R2.02 where an exported STEP file, when imported into Solidworks (2023), lacks some of the bodies and rays. Has anyone encountered this problem before? I tried to export the same design file to a STEP file from Ansys ZOS 2022 R2.02 and the imported STEP file contained no missing part.  So, perhaps it is related to the newer Ansys ZOS version? Any help would be appreciated.Thanks,Hanshin

2264
John.Hygelund
Fully Spectral
10 months ago
R
Ultraviolet
RayUltraviolet
asked in Licensing and Installation
Recovering disconnected licenses

We have just switched to ANSYS subscription version (from Zemax + dongles) and I wonder how the other users  here handle the problem I had yesterday:I went to a meeting with my laptop and AZOS open (in the background during that meeting) and when I came back and plugged back to the docking station, I had several pop-ups (all the same, something like 5 in a row) telling me no license was found. I closed Zemax and restarted, but noticed the license was a now professional instead of the premium I was using before closing. The license server still though I was using that license and counted it as in use. The IT had to restart the license server service (fortunately I was the only user that day as my colleagues are in vacations). I know this happened before to another colleague.How do you (everyone’s feedback is welcome) handle this kind of problem ? Is there a duration of inactivity after which the license is freed ? Is there a trick to free a license that is unsused ?I can’t imagine that

1343
jwbeenakker
11 months ago
yuan.chen
Zemax Staff
yuan.chenZemax Staff
posted in Got a question?
Alignment of Coordinate System between FEA and STAR

One of the frequent challenges that can occur when using several products during your multiphysics simulation analysis is a mismatch between coordinate systems. Different engineering teams can use tools that use a different Global Reference Coordinate Frame. This leads to a more complicated workflow when different aspects of the project are brought together into one location. One option is to halt the process, go back to the team member, and request a new dataset with an updated coordinate system. Delays can stack up leading to missing project delivery dates. Oftentimes though, you can perform some simple steps to align the coordinate systems to continue progressing and avoid stopping your workflow.Here we demonstrate some steps you can take when working in Space Claim to match a STEP export from Ansys Zemax OpticStudio into a CAD assembly in an AR/VR headset system. Many thanks to Matthias who figured this out. 

711
yuan.chen
Zemax Staff
11 months ago
K
Ultraviolet
KalebUltraviolet
asked in Licensing and Installation
Zemax Ansys license issues

I am having two issues with the new Zemax Ansys license. I will open four instances throughout the day, but it will show me using 4 seats of a license. My guess it has something to do with switching from a wired ethernet connection to wifi throughout the day, but it is pretty frustrating to have to close them out to free up seats.  Currently the license manager says I am using four seats. I have no Ansys or Zemax running, but it still says my computer is taking those seats, so I can’t use OS right now.  

3086
D
En-Lightened
11 months ago
John.Hygelund
Fully Spectral
John.HygelundFully Spectral
asked in Got a question?
High order birefringent quarter wave plate 'depolarizer'

Hello,I’m trying to simulate a higher order birefringent quarter-wave plate as described in US patent 11857158. I’ve implemented example 2 in the attached file (REPLACE .txt WITH .zprj) . I see a phase difference (CODA data =110) that approximately matches the plot. My goal is to reproduce the X and Y intensity plots. My naive thought was to put a ‘X analyzer’ Jones Matrix on the output to create the solid line, but not having any luck... When I look at the ‘The relative transmitted polarized intensity’ vs wavelength I don’t see the high frequency intensity changes…Any help would be appreciated.Kind Regards,John

670
John.Hygelund
Fully Spectral
11 months ago
M
Mark.JunkerMonochrome
asked in Got a question?
Thickness, comment. etc. cell values not accessible pythonnet3

I have upgraded to pythonnet 3 and I cannot find any way to access the values of the cells. I seem to be able to set the focus but I cannot read the value out.focus = 5foc_adj = TheSystem.LDE.GetSurfaceAt(5) foc_adj.Thickness = focus    Cell In[141], line 1----> 1 foc_adj.ThicknessNullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.Server stack trace: at ZemaxUI.ZOSAPI.Editors.ZOSAPI_LDETools.GetCellValue(Int32 rowIndex, Int32 col) at System.Runtime.Remoting.Messaging.StackBuilderSink._PrivateProcessMessage(IntPtr md, Object[] args, Object server, Object[]& outArgs) at System.Runtime.Remoting.Messaging.StackBuilderSink.SyncProcessMessage(IMessage msg)Exception rethrown at [0]: at System.Runtime.Remoting.Proxies.RealProxy.HandleReturnMessage(IMessage reqMsg, IMessage retMsg) at System.Runtime.Remoting.Proxies.RealProxy.PrivateInvoke(MessageData& msgData, Int32 type) at ZemaxUI.ZOSAPI.Editors.IZOSAPI_LDETools.GetCellValue(Int32 rowIndex,

371
M
11 months ago
Mike.Jones
En-Lightened
Mike.JonesEn-Lightened
asked in Got a question?
Grid Phase and Diffraction Order scaling?

I have an ensemble of sequential 128x128 2D wavefront errors generated by a freestream atmospheric propagation code.  The code outputs phase in radians at each point in the 2D grid.  I load these 2D arrays into Excel, enter a wavelength in microns, and convert to wavefront error in waves using WFE = wavelength * phase / 2π.  For one screen example I’m getting a P-V WFE of 1.8 waves.  Then I use a macro to write the first line of the Grid Phase DAT output file:128  128  increment  increment  1then the macro converts the 128x128 2D array phase in radians (not wavefront error) values into a linear string of 16384 phase values, without specifying derivative values.QUESTION: when I import the DAT file into a Grid Phase surface, and set the Diffraction Order to 1, I’m getting outrageously large values for wavefront error.  I had to reduce the diffraction order to around 0.01 to get the wavefront errors and Zernike fits to more or less agree with the Excel values.What am I doing wrong?  I loo

1782
Mike.Jones
En-Lightened
11 months ago
MichaelH
Luminary
MichaelHLuminary
posted in Got a question?
ZPRJ in Ansys OpticStudio

Zemax really needs to improve their Project Directory and implement a DIFF tool that allows users to go from Project Directory to a “normal” workflow.  When a user converts to Project Directory (almost all the time they do this by accident because there is zero information in the Release Notes, KBA, or Forum), they are unable to now create a ZAR file to pass to a colleague.There are a handful of ways that Zemax can improve the Project Directories:Still allow a user to create a ZAR file when they have Project Directories enabled.  This will allow a user to pass a single file to colleague rather than having a multi-step process of saving the OpticStudio file, creating a ZIP of the folder structure and then passing the ZIP to a colleague.  This will also allow the colleague to use the ZAR with a “normal” workflow rather than the Project Directory Integrate a DIFF tool like GitHub to merge changes between local Project Directory files and the global files.  There are hundreds (if not thous

2402
PhotonHerder
Ultraviolet
11 months ago
Johnny O
Johnny OMonochrome
asked in Got a question?
Storage of temporary files

Hello,Zemax Optic Studio creates on my system disc (C:) temporary files big as 70 GB. My system disc has only 72GB of  free space. How to make Optic Studio create those temporary files on another disc?

1063
MichaelH
Luminary
11 months ago
E
Zemax Staff
Erin.ElliottZemax Staff
posted in People & Pointers
Listing the Q-bfs Polynomials

OpticStudio supports Q-type aspheres.  Type 0 indicates Qbfs polynomials, and Type 1 indicates Qcon polynomials.  The functional forms of the Q-type polynomials are fairly complex due to the requirement that the polynomials be orthonormal for a circular aperture.  Occasionally, it is convenient to know the functional form of the polynomials for testing and comparison purposes. Below, we list the first 10 Qbfs polynomials, and also share how to calculate them in the Mathematica file GenerateQbfsPolynomials.nb.  The .nb files for Mathematica can be used by downloading the free Wolfram Player: https://www.wolfram.com/player/.Important equations for the Q-bfs polynomialsThe equations used below come from Shape specification for axially symmetric optical surfaces, G.W. Forbes, Optics Express 5218, Vol. 15, No. 8, 16 Apr 2007.  Forbes watned to find a function whose slopes are orthogonal.  So the slope equations must obey:where u is the radial coordinate in the aperture of an optical surface

118022
Mark.Nicholson
Luminary
11 months ago
Mike.Jones
En-Lightened
Mike.JonesEn-Lightened
asked in Got a question?
Tolerance script not optimizing compensators

This tolerance script is not optimizing the compensators.  What am I doing wrong?   OPENFILE 'G:\Tol_output.txt' TXT QUIET OFF HEADER '>>>' CLEARCOMP LOADMERIT 'C:\Users\Mike Jones\Documents\Zemax\MeritFunction\test_mf.mf' !  COMP surf code COMP    4    0    !    M1/M2 airspace compensator COMP    8    0    !    M2/L1 airspace compensator COMP    42    0    !    L3/L4 airspace compensator COMP    52    0    !    Focus space compensator !  CPAR surf param CPAR    2    1    !    M1 X-decenter compensator CPAR    2    2    !    M1 Y-decenter compensator CPAR    2    3    

6234
Mark.Nicholson
Luminary
11 months ago
Utkarsha
UtkarshaSingle Emitter
asked in Got a question?
Stray light Opticstudio

The main baffle length for a Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope is determined using the following formula:Hi,Is the provided calculation adequate for determining the front baffle length in TMA reflective systems, similar to how the main baffle length is calculated (Using Tan angle) for a Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope?P.S: In TMA design, the consideration of the baffle cannot extend to the primary mirror since it encounters reflected rays.

1360
Utkarsha
11 months ago
I
Indy.MagnusMonochrome
asked in Got a question?
TOLR not working correctly with TEZI on polynomial surface

Hi all,I am facing a problem when using the TOLR operand in combination with a TEZI tolerance applied on an Extended Polynomial surface. When running the sensitivity tolerance analysis, the nominal merit function and estimated RSS change is calculated properly. However, when using the TOLR operand in the MFE, only the nominal value is correctly returned, while the estimated RSS change is completely wrong. Please find a screenshot below:When using different tolerances (TTHI, ...) , or when using the TEZI tolerance on a different (standard) surface, everything is working properly with the tolerance viewer and TOLR operand returning the same values. I thus assume it maybe has something to do with the composite surface that is being generated when using TEZI in combination with the Extended Polynomial surface?I would appreciate any input on this topic, as I would love to optimize my polynomial surface taking its sensitivity to tolerances into account.Thanks,Indy

1052
I
11 months ago
Jeffrey.Strecker
Jeffrey.StreckerMonochrome
asked in Got a question?
Clear Aperture In Non-Sequential Mode

Hello Zemax Community! I’m using Non-Sequential mode and trying to accurately model a series of optics with defined clear aperture and mechanical diameters.  I can see within the object editor that the clear aperture is responding to changes I make, but rays are still being traced beyond it’s specified value.  Is there some ray tracing function I need to enable?  Essentially I want ray to not pass the clear aperture.  But they are currently.  Please let me know if you need additional information.  Thanks! Best regards, Jeff  

1631
David.Nguyen
Luminary
11 months ago
yqzhu
yqzhuSingle Emitter
asked in Got a question?
off-axis parabolic mirrors optimization/collimization

My goal at the moment is to set up a model based on existing optics. I’ve copied various surfaces provided by manufacturers and put them together in the zmx file attached. The layout looks like this: In Zemax, I first collimated the input beam by running ‘quick adjust’ twice. As you can see, the spot diagram on the first parabolic mirror (M1) looks reasonable.  Then I did another ‘quick adjust’ to optimize the space between M1 and the second parabolic mirror M2. The beam ended up looking skewed on M2 and IMA. and I expect at least a axially symmetric profile.spot diagram on first parabolic mirror (Edmund 35-507)spot diagram on second parabolicI think My problem has to do with the parabolic mirrors, probably with how I optimized the geometry. While I’m not sure if the beam would focus perfectly to one point as in the original model from Edmund, I think the output beam should look more symmetric at least. What should I optimize to achieve more symmetry?Also, in the model provided by Edmu

1090
yqzhu
11 months ago
Zheng
ZhengSingle Emitter
asked in Got a question?
How to extract the coherent irradiance from detector viewers through python?

I need get the coherent irradiance from the detector viewer to see a laser behaviors inside of a glass.  The code i used is based on the python example code as:Detector3D=np.zeros((100,100,100)) for i in range(1,101):    D_num=11+i    d_test= TheSystem.Analyses.New_Analysis(constants.AnalysisIDM_DetectorViewer)    d_set = d_test.GetSettings()    setting = CastTo(d_set, 'IAS_DetectorViewer')    setting.Detector.SetDetectorNumber(D_num)    setting.ShowAs = constants.DetectorViewerShowAsTypes_FalseColor    d_test.ApplyAndWaitForCompletion()    d_test_results = d_test.GetResults()    results = CastTo(d_test_results, 'IAR_')    d_test_values = results.GetDataGrid(0).Values    Detector3D[:][:][i-1]=np.flipud(np.array(d_test_values))    d_test.close() unfortunately, this code only give me the incoherent irradiance. My question is how can i set the “show data type” to “ coherent irradiance” or coherent phase” in python code? 

1221
Zheng
11 months ago
PhotonHerder
Ultraviolet
PhotonHerder
asked in Got a question?
Bug in “Seperate Fields/Configs”?

I’m using 2023 R2.00I’m tolerancing a system and when I select “Separate Fields/Configs” the results in the Sensitivity table clearly aren’t right.  The result for the average of all fields (field 0 in the table) shows a large degradation, but for each of the individual fields the degradation is exactly 0.  It’s a single config system with 3 fields.  I’m tolerancing average diffraction MTF.Is this a known issue?  

1481
PhotonHerder
Ultraviolet
11 months ago

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