Hello! I am trying to performe a tolerance analysis in a secuential systems with some mirrors. I want to analyse the impact of the surface roughness on it but I don´t know how to relate the scrach/dig parameter with the parameters that appear on the tolerance wizard or with the tolerance operands. Do you know how this can be done? Best regards, Jose

Hi Zemax users I want to set up the coating. I know the refractive index, thickness, reflectivity, and wavelength of the coating material. I wrote the following in the coating file. But I couldn't record the reflectance when using the COAT command. And, when using the IDEAL command, the thickness could not be set. How do I set up a coating material with 0.1mm thickness, 98% reflectivity, and 1.64 refractive index ---------------------------------- MATE BASO1 0.42 1.64 0 COAT BASO4 BASO1 .1 ! IDEAL BaSO4 0.00 0.93 -----------------------------------   NAME Thickness refractive index reflectivity WAVELENGTH BASO4 0.1 1.64 98% 0.42   Suhwan Kim

Dear Zemax Team, I would like to model and optimize an optical system that utilizes two parabolic mirrors. The mirrors would be placed in such a way to create an approximate 1:1 imaging system from an optical fiber (mode size ~ 2.5 um). I would like to know the position tolerancing for the two mirrors in order to minimize the spherical and chromatic aberration of two colors, 370nm and 780 nm. Furthermore, it would be ideal if the system works with the Physical Optics Propagation tool to visualize the beam and to predict the expected fiber coupling efficiency. I have been able to create the system such that it looks appropriate in the ray tracing system, but the optimization feature and the POP produce results that are quite unexpected. I expect this is attributed to user error as opposed to the 'real' results. I have attached my working zemax file for reference. Thank you for all your help! Regards, George

Hi everyone. I would like to be able to specify a number of sources and their positions, and use the optimization function to help me find the best power settings and positions for the flux at a given detector to between a given maximum and minimum. There could be many sources, and at the moment all I can do is use an imported CAD file, explode it, and create a source based on one of the elements. What I have been able to do from that is to create an array of sources, so that the NSE grid doesn't get too overcomplicated, but how can I then use the optimization function to move them independently?  For instance, if in a 2 by 2 array, can the optimization function move just one element to a different position? If this is not possible, do I have to create a single object in the NSE for each source?  For my purposes, that seems rather unwieldy, because at the moment I have to specify the CAD arrangement as the parent object, and I presume I will have to have a new CAD import

Hello Zemax-Community, I want to model an Acousto-Optic Modulator (AOM) in the non-sequential mode as precisely as possible with OpticStudio. I want to simulate multiple diffraction orders as well as the effects of the refractive index of the AOM, the parallity of input and output surface and thermal lensing effects. Looking through the non-sequential objects in OpticStudio the Rectangular Volume Grating was the closest match I found. The Rectangular Volume Grating adds a linear diffraction grating on four faces of the object: the top, bottom, left, and right faces. This leads, however, to a simulation error since it is typically assumed that the 'effective grating' in the AOM is located in the center of the AOM. Are there better or other ways to model an AOM in OpticStudio? Has anyone solved this problem by writing a user-defined DLL?   Steffen Erhard      

ZOF and SAB files are used to speed up model loading when using large CAD (e.g. STEP) files. According to the user manual, the original STEP files should be shared with the model, and ZOS will automatically pick up the ZOF/SAB file, if present, to speed up loading. Makes sense. However, in the ZMX file, the ZOF / SAB file is referenced. For ZOF files, it doesn't hurt: if ZOF file is missing, ZOS will still use the STEP file. However, if the newer SAB file is used, and my colleague is not using one of the recent ZOS releases (common in corporate environment), their ZOS doesn't know what to do with the SAB extension and doesn't understand that it should read the STEP file instead. Since saving the filename in ZMX with this extension shouldn't, by design, have any impact on the loading speed, the proposal is to use the original file extension (STP in this case) always. It is a future-proof solution. Am I correct in this thinking, and can we have such feature please? P

Hi I have loaded a CAD file into OpticStudio and exploded it to get the individual objects. I then created a source tube, which I wanted to place at the same position as one of the exploded components. The attached files show the Non-Sequential Editor with the components and my source tube, which I want to be in the same place as object 11. I had to give it specific X, Y and Z co-ordinates so that it would be in the same place as object 11, but object 11's co-ordinates are just -1000, -1000 relative to the original CAD assembly (object 1). When I gave the source tube these co-ordinates (also relative to object 1) it appeared in a different position. As you can see, I had to apply different values to X, Y and Z to get it in the same place. Can anyone explain why this is?   Thanks in advance.  

Hi, I am trying to optimize a lens in NSC. Given by our limitation, I need to keep the focal length while optimizing the thickness, radius and other properties. In sequential mode, EFFL could work. However, I cannot find the corresponding operand in NSC mode. Does anyone know how to do it? Many thanks! 

Hello, I need for my simulation source diode with circular instead of rectangular aperture (without the possibility to model arrays). Thus I would like to know if the DLL code of source diode is available, so that I can manipulate it for my purposes. Thanks and best regards Dirk 

I can not assign a coating to a CAD object in the non-sequential mode. Is it possible to do? thanks Luca

Dear Sir/Madam, May I check with you if it is possible to model the source object such that it can include the re-absorption of light rays in the simulation process. For example, when we have a mirror besides the light source (which is a source volume rectangle), some of the light rays emitted by the light source will be reflected back and pass through the source volume rectangle again. In reality, light rays might be re-absorbed by the material used to construct the light source. I would like to check with you if it is possible for Zemax to simulate this process Besides that，can Zemax simulate amplified spontaneous emission？   Best Regards, Niu Jing

Hello, I would like use the ISO Element Drawing for wedges, prisms and other tilted surfaces but I don't discover the way. It would be very useful to fullfil the specifications with LDE and TDE. I can do it only with Standard Surfaces. Anybody knows a procedure different than convert in CAD model and implementation in CAD software ? Thanks Edgard  

The exit pupil of my system is elliptical, I want to know the rule of  zernike fitting in OpticStudio, especially when the wavefront is elliptical. Will OpticStudio use a elliptical polynomials ? I use my own program with circular polynomials to fit the wavefront in matlab, and get a diffrent result. But this question is not remained in circle wavefront zernike fitting .

Hi everyone! I have a problem with the setting of the field. The specifications tell me I have a FOV 10 mmx8 mm, a sensor of 1024x1280 and a sensor size of 6,66x5,32mm.  How can I set those specification in the field data editor? Thank you, Angelo 

Hi everyone, In my system, I use a very large field angle. So with this angle, I have vignetting. My first question is : how the RMS value of the wavefront map is calculated ? Does Zemax use the real shape of the pupil (neither elliptical nor circular) or maybe a circle inside the pupil ?  I see that there is two algorithm to calculate this value : Gaussian quadrature and rectangular array, but I don't understand if I can choose the one I want to make the calculation.  My second question is linked : how the Zernike Standard coefficients are calculated ? To be used, these polynomials need to have a norm radius and a circular pupil. Does a way to know the norm radius used exist ?  Thank you !    

Hi everyone, Can you guys help me. Does the ray emitted on Zemax in POP depend on the number of samplings? Or is it determined by something else? I use sampling of 256 x 256, and in POP analysis, I want to know how many rays that emitted in each of the column of the sampling. For example, in my opinion, in each column, there might be have only one ray or maybe more than one.   I really hope someone can teach me and I would love to learn it.

Hi all. I have just visited the OpticsAcademy page https://opticsacademy.zemax.com/ and tried to enrol on the optimization course. The field for Country is mandatory.  I'm in the UK but I can't find the UK or Great Britain in the list. Has anyone else had trouble with this? Thanks in advance.

Hi Zemax team, Correct me if I'm wrong but when I use a New User Operand Template - C# (and the same apply to the other ZOS-API mode using C#/C++). A Visual Studio solution gets created for me, and its name starts as CSharpUserOperandApplication, and progressively gets incremented with a number at the end. If I create five different User Operand, I'll have the following folders in my Zemax\ZOS-API Projects: CSharpUserOperandApplication CSharpUserOperandApplication1 CSharpUserOperandApplication2 CSharpUserOperandApplication3 CSharpUserOperandApplication4 This is not informative, and error-prone. Moreover, changing the solution name in Visual Studio is not obvious, unless I'm mistaken again. Would it be possible to be prompted with a dialog box before the solution is created, such that one can input a custom solution name? Let me know if this isn't clear. The solution I've settled for so far is, whenever I create a new User Op

Hello everyone, I need your kindness help for some problems that I had. Actually, I want to make a system that includes 2 beam splitter, 2 mirror and see the result toward 2 image planes (as described in Figure below).    Can I ask for your opinion which is the right mode to use in order to make this system, either use Sequential mode or Non-Sequential mode or mixing two of the mode?  In my system, at the first image plane, I want to analyze the beam profile (size, centroid, and others), and I think to use POP as my analyzing tool. At the second image plane, I want to see the interference fringes of the beam because two beams will reflect back to the image. Actually, I try to mix the Non- sequential (use 2 BS, 2 mirror) and Sequential (use as image to analyze the beam). But the process is too hard and I had some problems.  Then, as Mr. Kevin’s suggestion , he suggested either to use Sequential or Non-Sequential by it owns.  So, in order to make this system possible to work, can anyone

I am currently modeling light scattering inside of the human skin. The known mean path for human skin is 0.1 mm. In the knowledge base articlehttps://support.zemax.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500005577062-Using-the-Henyey-Greenstein-distribution-to-model-bulk-scattering I found that  The Mean Path (mean free path) was set to 0.0001 mm, which is small relative to the 0.1 mm thickness of the volume. The measured OpticStudio values reproduce those results derived from the theoretical model within statistical error, as we would expect for a case in which each ray is only allowed to scatter once (the results will vary from ray trace to ray trace due to statistics, so you will get different – but very similar – numbers).​  I am a bit confused what mean path should I use in my model (there is very big difference in the results when using 0.1 mm and 0.0001 mm. May I get more detailed explanation how the reduction of the mean path compensates the single ray scattering approximation. I use the thickn

We would like to import a surface sag dat file of a mirror (even asphere plus surface form) surface into our zemax layout for sequential simulation. Our mirror is circular but it is cut in one edge, y > |L| = 0 (Air). We have this easy equation in x,y of the cut mirror. Our question is, since it is not radially symmetric, what is the platform to describe the suface analytically with equation? Should we write the equation into .dat file? Can you please help on the steps to generate this Grid surface sag, if this is possible to be done?   Thank you

Does anyone know how to convert the illumination detector plane watt/cm^2 to lux? It shows as watt/cm^2 but I want it be in lux. 

Anyone can help here why led illumination design only allows 1e6 max rays for the led source? Thanks a lot. 

Hello, I am building an optical system with a number of surfaces. One of the surfaces I am using is an off axis surface.  I put the surface off axis using coordinates breaks.  The vertex of the surface is off of the optical axis of the system.  The chief ray intersects this surface not at its vertex.  I would like to optimize the surface ROC using a merit function BUT I want to constrain the chief ray path length (from the priovious surface to the off axis surface) to a fixed value.  How do i constrain this chief ray distance yet allow the ROC to vary based on the merit function? thanks John

I encountered the following error when I open OpticStudio every time, how to avoid it?      The problem might not be related to OpticStudio, but related to the graphic settings in your machine. You may search from web for a possible solution, here is a link.  You can find more information about Setting OpticStudio to use an advanced graphics card from the following link:   https://my.zemax.com/en-US/Knowledge-Base/kb-article/?ka=KA-01707