Hi all, I am trying to make an illumination system where the input are plane waves (-10,10 fields, right in the figure-laser with fixed beam size of 1 mm), and the output are divergent cones of -10 to 10 degree (small in the figure), something like that:Should I start from obejct space by using angles from -10 to 10 and force the image to have divergent cone of -10,10? If so what operands can I use? Working the otherway around by forcing the objects to have diverging cone (object cone angle )of -10,10 degree?  Maybe working in non sequential mode? What operands to use? Many thanks,Nadav

HelloUsing Interference Example 1- A Simple Interferometer from SAMPLES folder I created a simple setup to test a right-angle prism with pyramidal error. At the end I wanted to save the file but OS just froze and didn’t react any more - even after a longer time. I ended the program in Task Manager and opened it again without problem. The file to-be-saved before seemed to have saved well and it was possible to continue the work. I tried to save again and OS froze again. And so many times… In my last trial I wanted to check Preferences and after some time in Preferences OS froze again.All other sequential and non-sequential files that I have behave normally.What could be the reason. Attached is the screenshot of the file.Thanks, Dusan

In reference to this KB article, “Single-Mode Fiber Coupling in OpticStudio”.The receiving fiber is a Single-Mode. A SM fiber has fiber-core size = φ9.0 micron. Therefore, I added a φ9 micron aperture at the Image plane.This resulted in a drastic drop in Coupling Efficiency: 0.99% to 0.72%. Why is that?In a Laser fiber-coupling applications, doesn't the laser beam have to couple into the φ9.0μm dia. core? Or is it truly not the case, and the beams are much larger than the fiber core? Please help understand the reason behind this.Thanks -Asuku

Hi everyone,Apologies — I'm very new to OpticStudio, so this might be a fairly basic question.I've inserted a lens into my setup and would like to model the beam size as a function of propagation distance. I assumed the 1D Universal Plotting tool would be the right way to do this, but it's currently greyed out, and I can't seem to figure out how to enable it.I'm using Zemax OpticStudio 2025 R1.00 (Student version).Any help would be greatly appreciated!Thanks in advance.

I’m new to tolerancing in Zemax. Does anyone know of resources on how to tolerance irregularity on cylindrical/acylindrical lenses used as diode laser slow axis collimators (SAC)? What are some good merit figures to use for a cylinder? Is it typical to tolerance the power and nonpower axes separately? Thanks!

Hello all:Is it possible to create a UDA on Image Plane such as shown below?I am looking at an array of beams falling on the Image Plane, where each beam is to be coupled back into a given SM fiber. Basically I want to model the image plane as an array of SM fibers.Problem: When I do a optimization on the rest of the system, the beam array can fall anywhere on the Image plane. Therefore, I would like it to restrict the array of beams falling on the Image plane with apertures as illustrated below. Any ideas on how to do this is appreciated. Cheers - Asuku

Hello, I am trying to use a source as a black body source and keep getting this error message.I am trying to use object 23 as the blackbody source. Here is what the object properties are:   I have never dealt with the black body spectrum part of object properties before. I am assuming that the spectrum from the black body in the source settings is larger than some glass material in my catalog? I tried adding a custom catalog but I am unsure exactly what to look for since the catalog does not have a glass material in it. The two materials I use in my model are sapphire and silicon. Here is the materials catalog screenshot for each material.  Sapphire:   Silicon: All help is appreciated thank you!

So far I was using Zemax with version 2023R1.02 Pro, and tried to install 2025R1.01.I downloaded a “OPTICSTUDIO_2025R1.01_WINX64.zip” file from Ansys’ website after logging with my mail adress, and executed “OPTICSTUDIO_2025R1.01_WINX64.exe”. This installed : “Ansys optics Launched 2025 R1”  “Ansys Zemax OpticStudio 2025 R1.01”  At this point when I tried to run the new Ansys Zemax OpticStudio, I get a :  I’m kinda lost in the licensing system and not sure what to do.

Hello all: I am modeling a system where the object is pivoted about Point A - lens surface-2 center. I would like to calculate the position the OBJECT such that the refracted light is normal incident at the center of surface-2 that (Point-A).How to calculate the Object Y-Decenter and Tilt-Y required to bring the Chief Ray position from B → A?Zemax setup (Thanks to ​@Jeff.Wilde for his help on how to model launch ray from angled facet fiber). Here in order to demonstrate the effect of refraction, I’ve used a high n_d value. Thanks - Asuku

It would be nice if the local axis was drawn in a similar manner to the orientation indicator at the bottom left of the 3D Layout window. When I want to share local coordinate systems with my mechanical team, I usually have to save an image of the 3D layout and add my own arrows at each surface to provide more visibility.Also, the Y-axis indicator gets lost when on a flat surface viewed in the Y-Z orientation.Finally, separating the scaling of local axis arrows and fletch arrows would be great. It was mentioned years ago in this thread. Highly tilted systems with lots of off-axis mirrors would greatly benefit from an update to this feature.  Where is the Y axis? Which surface is the axis located? Much better 

I am designing a multipass mirror configuration.unable to understand why I am unable to generate secondary reflections off M1 mirror. The first pass reflection seems to work on both M1 and M2. How does Zemax decide how thick the mirror surface should be? The two mirrors have different thickness as shown below. Typically the designer would use Draw option to allocate a certain “thickness” to such surfaces.Zemax SEQ modelquestionsM1 surface#3 Draw Properties 

We know how Zemax handles stack coatings when applied on a air to glass surface : “If the surface specified is a boundary going from air to glass, the coating layer order is interpreted exactly as specified in the coating file.[...]If the surface specified is a boundary going from glass to air, then the order of the layers is automatically reversed, so that the coating is the same as if it had been applied going from air to glass.“But whan happens for other coatings, for example an IDEAL coating with R and T value when going from air to glass ?Are R and T reversed when going from glass to air ?Based on the TABLE section : “Angles of incidence are assumed to be in the incident media, and for coatings placed on refractive surfaces, that the incident media has a lower index of refraction than the substrate. For coatings placed on surfaces where the rays go from high index to low index (such as glass to air), the refracted angle in the low index media is used as the angle of incidence.”, s

I have a non-sequential object that I would like to exhibit different reflexion/transmission based on which side on the surface the incoming power is.Picture a plane plate where a given R/T values correspond to air-to-plate interface, but with different R/T values for the same face for the plate-to-air direction.In other words, I’d like a coating where going from air (1) to object (2) R12 and T12, and R21 et T21 with R21!=T12 and R12!=T21.Does that make sense ? is it possible in zemax ? if so, how to do it in non-sequential ?

Hello to all!. I usually deal with large ZRD database when doing non-sequential ray traces. Usually this means that displaying detector information or doing ray database filtering takes a considerable amount of time. What is the main bottleneck for the speed of these analysis/processing in Zemax that could be improved by upgrading the PC components? Thank you

I have several zmx files in a folder, but only one of them creates lots of fempty olders when I open it while all others don’t. What is it that determines the behavior of a zmx file regarding folders like Apertures, CAD Files, etc  I tried turning off projectdirectory with the API but still the folders are created. 

Hello there again friends from the Zemax community, I am trying to run some non-sequential ray-tracing of a system which consists of two elements: one cylinder with planar interfaces and one imported CAD element which has the first surface being flat and in direct contact with the upper surface of the cylinder. When I use the standard user interface to Zemax I do not have any issue with this system but once I try to move to the python API in where I do batch ray-tracing, I notice that somehow the ray-tracer accounts for both “touching” interfaces in between both volumes.  This is an overview of the system I am modeling: In theory, I should only see 3 interfaces and the transition from the upper surface in the cylinder to the upper volume should count only as s single interface. However, I can see that the ray-tracer does not handle this in this way: I was wondering about what could I do to improve this? I have already tried importing the upper surface just as a single surface without d

Dear community, I’ve got the problem of lens data editor that  the MFE related to the initial state after the parameter values in the lens data editor changed.I have the values of the specified parameters in three sets (A, B, C) of lens data editor, including thickness, radius of curvature, and eccentricity and tilt of coordinate discontinuations, etc..I find that the coupling efficiency of B in MFE obtained from A-->B is different from that obtained from A-->C-->B. (After setting the parameters each time, I only performed the operation of refreshing the MFE and did not make any optimization.)Why do the MFE results corresponding to the change of parameter group B from A and from C be different?Looking forward to your answer. I really appreciate it!!

Hello. I am trying to model a Angle Cleaved fiber source that emits beam. I would like to show the exit beam is offset at 4° from the optical fiber mechanical axis. How can I model this in SEQ mode?  Essentially, I want to model something like shown below in Zemax Sequential mode.PS: I am referencing this KB article to model a Angle Cleaved fiber on the receiving side. 

Hello, I am currently trying to replicate some of the previous chats that say you can rotate multiple objects around a common object in the NSCE.  Aligned cylinders (see image above) I currently have a small ellipse as my object  I want the two cylinders to rotate around. The first cylinder has one edge right where the ellipse is and it extends 90mm. Then I wish to start a new cylinder that is smaller in diameter from the end of the first cylinder. This new cylinder extends 50mm. I wish to have both rotate around the ellipse that I have. That is when I rotate the ellipse, the two cylinders rotate and stay centrally aligned to one another. Currently when I try to do the pickup method, I get this result (see image below). The second cylinder rotates 5 degrees, but does not stay aligned with the end of the bigger cylinder. I am not sure how to fix this? I have tried doing pickup on several variables and am not getting any luck. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! 

First, can someone confirm that ht Through Focus MTF tool works by modifying the thickness of the second-to-last surface (when the last surface is the image plane) ? If so, would it be possible to specify which surface thickness to vary ?

Hi there,I found a very helpful description of Mark Nicholson on “How to model a black-box optical system using Zernike coefficients”.When I start calculating Huygens PSF in that paraxial equivalent model, I see some deviations to the real system (especially when I go to large field angles).Why and what should I consider to make Huygens PSF work “correctly” in that case? Any ideas?Kind regards!

I have a Gaussian to flattop beam shaper, the layout is attached, the website does not alow me to upload Zemax file. The POP irradiance plot shows strange not-rotational-symmetric wide fringes, although the Guassian beam data used in the layout and POP are exactly the same and the system is rotational symmetric. If converting this system is to NSC, there is no such wide fringes. Can someone explain this? Thanks. 

When I set up an inverted light source, all the components seemed to be malfunctioning. 

Hello,I am currently trying to understand the sampling behavior of the FFT PSF analysis in OpticStudio. The analysis has two sampling parameters:‘Sampling’, hereafter referred to as S, documented as “The size of the ray grid used to sample the pupil”. ‘Display’, hereafter referred to as D, documented as “The display size indicates what portion of the computed data will be drawn when a graphic display is generated. The display grid can be any size from 32 x 32 up to twice the sampling grid size. Smaller display sizes will show less data, but at higher magnification for better visibility”.Based on implementations described in the literature and basic tests with OpticStudio, I assumed the PSF calculation works like this:Sample the wavefront at the pupil with a sampling S; Zero-pad the wavefront to the maximum possible display sampling Dmax; Crop the result to a size D. This last step was inferred from OpticStudio’s output.Based on the properties of the Fourier transform, I assume the foll

I don’t understand some results generated by the Power Pupil Map analysis feature.  Perhaps someone here in the forum can provide insight.For a general lens system, consider the wavefront leaving the exit pupil.  This wavefront is typically not spherical because of aberrations, or perhaps because the lens is a freeform optic.  In either event, the min and max values of the local curvature at any point on the wavefront in the pupil determine the min and max focusing power associated with that pupil location.  Equivalently, we can look at the max and min local focal lengths, which are just the reciprocals of the powers.  The Power Pupil Map is a nice tool to help the user visual this effect.  Several options are available for the form of the data.  Also, a surface must be selected. Consider a simple test case using a plano-convex lens that focuses an on-axis collimated beam.  Spherical aberration causes the exit pupil wavefront to have local curvature that varies over the pupil.  Presuma