Hello,I have been tolerancing some achromatic doublets using vendor presets in OpticStudio (specifically the Edmund Optics presets) and had a question regarding the expected changes in effective focal length.Most of the lenses are manufactured to a tolerance of +/- 1-2% on the focal length, but the observed changes that I am seeing are smaller even when the tolerances are relaxed. For example, a 50 mm diameter 170 mm focal length doublet only has a focal length variation by 0.5 mm for 1000 monte carlo runs (wavelength is 632.8 nm)Is there something that Zemax does not consider when tolerancing that is leading to this discrepancy? I also imagine that I could be missing something obvious!Thank you,Musab

I am dealing with sunlight collection using Fresnel lens. In order to do that i need to create source which is close to sun. Can anyone suggest the suitable source in non-sequential mode.

I would like to post something, with design files in ZARs in a Zip. What is the file size limit, please?Edit:To be specific, I would like to include a zar of a nonsequential design. The design file is 82MB, which compresses to 18MB in the zip file. The 82MB is really in the ZDA file, not the ZMX. I have tried to reduce this be tracing fewer rays, and by eliminating some windows, to no avail. I could of course post only the ZMX file, but then readers would need to reconstruct all of the analysis windows.Is there any way to produce a smaller ZDA file but still preserve its ability to reconstruct the analysis windows?

Hi all, I am trying to collimate a LED to a plane wave in non - sequntial mode.For simplicity, I uploaded a file with point source.How I use the optimization wizard to achieve this? Which crictiria to choose?Didn’t find in the knowledgebase. Thanks in advance,Nadav

Hello, For spherical lenses, how do we calculate Irregularity (P-V) and Power (P-V) as number of rings/fringes?For example, how is λ/4 P-V surface = 0.5 fringe?Thank you

HiI am trying to propagate a matrix of independent Gaussian beams incoherently, but for some reason it seems that the beams are still interfering with each other (i.e. it seems that the POP is propagating the beams coherently).I have defined the beams as incoherent in a Multimode file:  Which looks like this: In the far field the intensity looks like this: It looks like there is interference (side lobes). Its possible to see it more clearly with a cross-section:If the propagation was incoherent, then the intensity should not dip where I have indicated with the red arrows, right? In addition, I am getting a nonsensical beam parameter product which is too low and implies coherent propagation. Maybe this is a problem with sampling or window size? Or syntax in the Multimode file?Can anyone help? :)

ZOS-API Batch mentioned in bulk polarization ray tracing,Note that when reading back the ray trace data that the coordinates, direction cosines and electric field (exr, exi, eyr, eyi, ezr, ezi) are returned in the local coordinate system. To convert to global coordinates, you will need to use the GetGlobalMatrix() method of the ILensDataEditor interface to retrieve a matrix for conversion.In other words, the results obtained by polarization ray tracing are in the local coordinate system. So what should I do if I want to obtain the electric field vector in the global coordinate system?

Asphericity is a useful value when manufacturing an asphere or a freeform surface.  It is typically defined as the distance between the smallest best-fit sphere (BFS) that touches the surface without intersecting and the ideal surface shape, as sketched below.  (The BFS usually contacts the surface at one radial location; in the part sketched below, the BFS contacts the part at the outer edge.) OpticStudio can return both the BFS and the asphericity using the Surface Sag map and/or the DSAG operand in the Merit Function.  Choose Analyze/Surface/Sag to open the Sag map of the surface and then set “Remove” to “Best Fit Sphere” with the “Minimum Volume” option, as shown below.  The peak-to-valley of the resulting plot is the asphericity.  The radius of curvature of the minimum volume BFS is also listed.Use the Surface Sag map to find the asphericity of a surface.Both values can also be retrieved using the DSAG operand with Remove = 2 and BFS = 0.  Data = 2 retrieves the P-V of the sag map

 EDIT:   MY MISTAKE. TOO MANY RAYS, AND I JUST DIDN’T WAIT LONG ENOUGH.THE _N FILTERS DO WORK WITH DETECTOR VIEWERS. Do the _n filters not work with detector viewers? I do a trace and path analysis to generate the filters. The _1 filter, and the others, work as expected in a 3D Layout. But when I set a detector viewer to use the saved zrd ray data, and use one of the _n filters on the detector viewer shows no hits and reports zero power. I’m on Zemax version 23.2.1.As an example, path 1 contains 87% of the power: 

Does Zemax vignetting plot include “natural vignetting”? I try to compare image uniformity testing data with zemax vignetting calculation.  Thanks!

Hi, I am currently working on the design of HUD system, including free-form mirror (xy polynomials), following the topic: https://support.zemax.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500005577782-Which-tools-to-use-when-working-on-a-Head-up-Display-.The forward design for me is fine (though the specifications like distortion and MTF are not that perfect but acceptable). However, after reversing the system using the way provided in the article (make double pass), many rays especially in x-axis are not collected, and the difference between the forward and reverse design is significant.Does that mean my design has big problem? Or it is common?Forward design:After reversing: (the windshield size is the same) 

 Hi all,I am examining the feasibility of manufacturing a lens designed with Surface slope in sequential mode.In this function, i found the surface slope is a dimensionless quantity (no units).In practice, however, slope is sometimes expressed in degrees (tan−1ΔyΔx)(tan−1⁡ΔyΔx), as a percentage (tanΔyΔx),(tan⁡ΔxΔy), or as a ratio (1:tanΔxΔy). Additionally, it is confirmed that the tangential slope value appears as shown in the photo below. Could someone tell me if these numbers are tan(radians) or something else? thank you. 

Although there is no a “Cylindrical Detector” object in Non-Sequential, there are several workarounds to make it, since most objects may act like a detector (To make any objects a detector, choose "Object Is A Detector" from the Type tab of the Object Properties dialog box). Once the object is set to be a detector, the intensity detected will be displayed on the Shaded Model display, and on the text listing tab of the Detector Viewer window. There is a Cylinder Pipe object in OpticStudio but it cannot be used as a detector because the curves of the object are modelled exactly within OS—the curves are not approximated by facets. Only objects which are faceted can be used as detectors. But there are some alternative object types that all have a faceted representation and so would work as a detector: You could create a cylinder pipe object and then export it as a STL file and use this new object as your detector. (See Export CAD files: The File Tab > Export Group > CAD

Every time I use Convert to NSC Group I’m amazed at how useful it is. I well remember life without it. Thank you for the gift that keeps on giving. And Merry Christmas to all!

https://www.wsj.com/business/deals/big-design-software-companies-in-talks-to-merge-09dedcc3?mod=djem10pointSynopsys is ‘in talks’ to buy Ansys for $30bn.Obviously it’s too early to know what this means for OpticStudio, but it will mean something. Mark

Is there a way to iterate through a list of zbf as input for POP? Could this be done in Macro? Any examples to refer to?Thanks very much.

I think I am not understanding something about how the optimization operands OPTH and/or OPDC are calculated.For example, if I set up a first OPTH to calculate for the image surface and Py = 1, then a second OPTH also for the image surface but with Py = 0, then shouldn’t the difference between the values of those two operands, when divided by the wavelength (with the conversion from microns to millimetres), give the same value as an OPDC operand with Py = 1?

I am attempting to create an array of Grid Sag lenses in NSC. I employed the Array Object and designated a single Grid Sag lens as the parent object. However, even with a minimal number of lenslets, there is a significant slowdown in performance. Additionally, I encountered an issue with the Array Object positioning the parent object not as the central lenslet but utilizing it as the coordinate origin, placing the other lenslets in only one direction. This poses challenges when defining the position of the array in relation to my other components. Are there more efficient methods for generating an array from a large GRD file?

Good Morning,In the NSC group of a mixed mode system, I uploaded a file .step regarding a lens having mirror property. It is highlighted by the orange color in the figure below:   I was wondering if someone knows why I see only the rays passing through the hole present in the lens surface, but I am not able to visualize the rays reflected by the lens itself. They should be back reflected and focused on the lens focus. Thank you for your answer. Best Regards,Aniello

In the past when importing CAD objects as *.stp the colors were shown also in Zemax. In the latest version CAD objects are shown in gray.  Is there something changed or are there new setting to get the colors of *.stp back aging?

Hello,I'm currently working on simulating a splitting rhomb with one input and three outputs, each responsible for 33% of the total power. After completing the design in the 3D CAD model, I imported it into Zemax non-sequential and exploded the CAD model. However, I've encountered an issue: despite applying a 33% coating to the faces of the rhombs in Zemax, the software seems to ignore it, allowing the beam to pass through unaffected. Any insights on how to resolve this would be greatly appreciated.  

When I try to run MTF analysis, I get a Zemax error message:Cannot compute MTF for zero weight,What is the reason for the error?  Where is the zero weight?All my field weights are 1.Thanks.  

Hello,I’m currently dealing with a partially afocal system in Non-Sequential mode, where a pair of rod lenses focus light from a gaussian source onto a detector. I’ve been observing a series of lines that I cant explain. They appear after passing through a cylinder lens, and are not present in if I put a detector next to the sourceI initially thought it was a sampling issue, but more rays simply made these structures more apparent. I’ve tested two ways of making the cylinder lenses (toroidal lens & cylinder object), no difference. I’ve tested a second source type (two-angle) and got the same result. I’ve also tested removing all elements, and the structure only appears with the cylindrical lenses.Any idea what could be causing this?

Speckle is created by the interference of multiple, mutually coherent optical fields that have random phases at any point on a detection surface.  This could be associated with laser light scattering from a rough surface or from the interference of multiple modes emanating from a multimode fiber.  For multimode fibers, it may be best to use POP in a sequential model in which the beam leaving the fiber is modeled as a coherent superposition of LP (or LG) modes.  Alternatively, we show here how a simple non-sequential ray-based model can be used to simulate speckle arising from rough-surface scattering. To model light leaving a rough surface, we can employ Huygens’ Principle and use a set of point sources that are randomly phased over (0,2pi).  This assumes the height variations on the surface are large enough to create such a random process.  Ideally, we would use a single non-sequential source that emits rays uniformly over some spatial region and within a defined cone angle.  However,

Is it possible to include the sequential option to ‘Scatter Rays” to the “Line/Edge Spread” analysis feature? I’m guessing the answer is yes since this is a geometric analysis. If so, this would be a feature request.Thank you,John