Hello everyone,I want to simulate a contact lens in Zemax OpticStudio. What I am trying to do is to create a grid sag surface with all the real data surface I have from the contact lens. I have the distance from the centre of the lens (x), the anterior and posterior radius in each point of the lens, the thickness in each point and the index of refraction. An example is depicted in the following picture: The data go until x=4mm, and this structure repeats rotationally all around the lens surfaceI would like to know how I can input all this data into Zemax as a grid surface. For the moment, I know that I have to transfer the data into a matlab code (How to write a Grid Sag DAT file programmatically – Knowledgebase (zemax.com), but in this example, I can only use one value of radius, (in my case I put the posterior radius, 8.6mm). I would like to know how I can get a final file with the sag corresponding to each anterior radius (column 2 of my picture), that is varying with x, please.In t

Hi community,I tried to export the CAD data of my optical system consisting of turning mirror, aspherical lens(placed after turning mirror)  and some rays. If the option “surface as solids” is checked, the exported mirror has negated curvature on both sides. Is there any setting i am missing?Thank you in advance.Ataported lens in CAD data is

Dear Sir/Madam,I was trying to make a humen skin in zemax, I found a knowlendge base article on humen tissue/skin design: here is the link- https://support.zemax.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500005579202-How-to-model-the-human-skin-and-optical-heart-rate-sensors-in-OpticStudioIn this article all the related values for humen skin model is given, like refractive index, scattering anisotropy (g), u_a, u_b(please refer to the above link). From these given data I can calculate the “mean free path”, “transmittance” by the simple formula given there in article. I had manually calulated mean free path and transmittance based on the values and formula given there in above attached article.  I had put all this claculated under “object properties” “Volume Physics” with “DLL defined scattering”  to have scateering from different layers of tissue/ skin so far so good,But, for verification of my design when I analyzed these values in the zemax file attached there in the above attached article, I saw that,

I have been working with the NSC ray-tracer and trying to model a surface that scatters a laser into random polarization and direction- something like a Spectralon surface at normal incidence. The lambertian surface works well with a random polarized light but for some reason when I use polarized radiation the polarization is more or less conserved after reflection. Is there an easy way to create a surface where polarization is not conserved? Can this surface be partially scattering where say ½ the light undergoes specular polarization conserving reflection and the other ½  is scattered (lambertian) and polarization is not conserved?Thanks!Bram     

Hi,i am trying to make a dichroic mirror (beam splitter in this context) work in sequential mode.I worked through two tutorials, ‘How to model a dichroic beam splitter’ and ‘how to model a beam splitter in sequential mode’. The problem is that my mirror is not a cube but a thin (1mm) plate. The plate has a coating on the back. For the reflection pathway, the rays need to go through the plate, then get reflected and again go through the plate and leave it in a 90° angle in regard to the incoming rays. When I try to use coordinate breaks to bend the optical path by 90° in a way that they are getting reflected I get a weird lens design (see below). I have played around with different parameters on the coordinate break and also used the add fold mirror assisant, but its not doing what i want it to do.This is how the rays should go. The coating is at the back of the plate, so the rays have to pass the plate twice.This is how the subsequent lens looks like:It appears in a weird shape, changi

Hello everyone,I am currently trying to model a microscope, which of course include the use of oil. I already modelled the whole system and I work now in non sequencial mode. However, when I try to put my detector near the oil, close to the specimen, in order to investigate what kind of signal I have, I got the following error: “non mirror surfaces cannot be placed in contact with solid”. It looks like the software doesn’t like when I put my detector in oil. I modelled the oil with the solve model : n=1,52 and abbe number= 58.8. Is there a way to allow the detector  to be inside the oil without any trouble?Cheers,Marie Fournier. 

What kind of data being included in 22.2 Speos Exporter OPTDistortion file? 

I am modeling some CPC’s in NSC. I know that they are not 100% reflective and I want to assign a coating to the inside surfaces. But in OS, NSC, there is no way to apply a coating to a surface. Why is this? I can think of many reasons I would want a surface with a coating. A simple cubed beam splitter is one example. Define a cube of glass and then put a 45 degree surface inside with a 50/50 coating. Or, make CPC’s objects rather than surfaces. Anyone have any thoughts to a workaround?Thanks,Paul

The article demonstrating how to use an OFH correct for aberrations introduces these operands, but neglects to tell you where they come from or how they're used. When you select Add Hologram Variables, you get an entry for every item in the accompanying 2 files that has been made a variable. Note the entry File # that tells you which hologram file the variable is from: The list will include the same # of variables from both models. If the number of variables is not the same, the excess will be populated with 0s and unchangeable. In the following example, construction file _1 has one more variable than construction file _1, and so variable #3 is a 0 with no V indicator, and modifying it does nothing to the construction model.  Frustratingly, they don't tell you where the Variable # comes from. It is located in the respective construction files under Prescription Data. Scroll to SOLVE AND VARIABLE DATA. The variables are listed in order and s

One of the big short comings of Zemax display window is that you can’t display Isolux lines (or any other contour Iso line such as Candela).  IsoLux lines are used in a variety of different industries from Automotive to Street Lighting to show areas meeting a given illumination level but for some reason Zemax think they are either not needed or too difficult to implement.  At the moment I have a display window that in False Colour just looks like it is 90% yellow/green and I need to show my customer the area that will have greater than his specified minimum lux level.  Can anyone recommend a free (or cheap) graphics package that can take the text output from the display window and show IsoLux lines?Thanks,Andrew

Dear community,there are already several questions about that topic and also there are useful support here:https://support.zemax.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500005486701-How-to-simulate-high-resolution-images  However, I am still having some doubts about the following questions.Let consider that I am in the condition in which I have a 1:1 magnification lens, and I am setting the Field Type as Object height at 5 mm as “Max Field Y” and I have set the distribution as “Uniform Y Fields”.  So I am in this condition: In that condition the Full Height of my Object would be 2*5(mm) = 10 (mm). Now I want to simulate, for example, how will appear my image in my system. To make my simulation more real, I want consider my camera sensor that is a 2048 x 2048 pixels with pixel size of 6.5 microns. I want to further optimize my simulation, therefore I am gonna to create a new image with the dimension of the pixels that matches the dimension of the pixel of the sensor.  created imagepixel dimensions of th

Hello! I want to import the data of a rotationally symmetric contact lens to Zemax OpticStudio, and I thought about ding it with the grid sag surface. Does anyone know if it is possible to create a circular grid surface in the grid sag surface type, instead of the square one given by default? It would be much easier for meThank you very much,Alicia

Hi there, I am pretty new on Zemax and I am trying to understand how to optimize some values. I have some issues on that.I am using a lens from the lens catalogs and I want to minimize the Spot radius on the image plane by moving the object in Z. Which is the best merit function I could use to do that? I put the operand variable on the the thickness of the object and I am not sure of the best suitable merit function for that. Thanks in advance for your support. Gianluca

Hi,I noticed that the exit pupil position for an off-axis system with mirrors (eg. a TMA) seems to be off when the STOP is at the curved surface of one of the mirrors and ray aiming is turned on. I understand this to be somehow expected since the pupil solve in the LDE and the EXPP operand work in paraxial approximation, and such system is definitely far from paraxial.Is there another way to approximate the exit pupil position when ray aiming is on? Thanks,Paolo

Hello all,I have a simple system of a source and an object (CAD object checked with “object is a detector”). The CAD object has a coating defined with 80 % reflectance and 20 % absorbtance.I´m trying to get the absorbed energy via ZPL macro with the operand NSDD. However, with the macro shown below, I always get the fully incident energy and not only the absorbed one. temp=NSDD(1,0,0,0)NSTR 1,0,1,1,1,1,15detector1= NSDD(1,2,0,4)PRINT "Absorbed energy:    ",detector1 In the help file (Non-sequential Ray Tracing and Detector Operands) it says:For Object Is A Detector: There are two additional options for data. Data is 4 for absorbed flux and 5 for absorbed flux/area.What am I doing wrong? GreetingsJulian

Dear all,I not clear about “sampling importance” about scatter to method menu. The size is about the size of radious of the sphere that would be placed in target object but the limit ? why “1” is the default value? 1 stereoradian? The difference between power total with or without sampling importance is almost the same. I understood that importante sampling has to do with the scatter effect in the surface. thank you in advanced for your comments

Dear, I am using tolerancing tool and sensitivity analysis base of the merit function. My merit function would be working distance (distance between last surface and image surface). Could you advise me with proper operand in merit function.   Thank you

 RT，I have design a pancake optical system, now, i want to make a tolerance analysys for the system which have the pick up for lens, and the Zemax have a better method for such a system?Thank You!    @Yuan Chen[Mod edit: Moved to appropriate forum (Got a Question?)] 

Hello. I'm trying to simulate a simple imaging system in non sequential mode. My setup consists in a source radial, a 4f telescope, a 1200 lines/mm diffraction grating and a detector color. I would like to insert a reflective grating, but I can't seem to find a way to do it. I was only able to insert a transmission grating by choosing a Diffraction Grating from the Object Type menu. I tried changing the parameters in the Object Properties, varying the 'Diffraction' settings: I selected 'Split by table below', in the 'split' section and set 'Start order:0 , Stop Order:1'. Then, on the 'Reflect' section, I set 0.5 for both orders and left 0 in the 'Transmit' section. I'm going to post a snapshot of this menu. Anyway, nothing of this worked, so instead of 'Split by table below', I chose 'Split by DLL function'. In the DLL section I selected the diff_samp_1.DLL , but for any parameter I insert, the grating still keeps working in transmissive mode.

I’d like to change a general spherical mirror into a off-axis parabolic mirror to avoid astigmatism. In order to do this, I input ‘-1’ as conic 1 parameter as you can see following image.But It doesn’t work at all….  Could you help what did I missed?  

I’m currently working on a program that is working over a waveband where Zemax won’t or can’t calculate an Abbe tolerance.  The tolerance data editor when using the wizard doesn’t even include the TABB tolerance operands and if inputted manually are ignored in the sensitivity analysis.  Since this is the case, is there a way to check the tolerance sensitivity of the design to variations in index with wavelength?   

Micro lens array (MLA) is a common optical components for illumination system. OpticStudio provides two object types to define MLA in NSC mode, which are “Array” object and “Lenslet Array” object. In the page of “Lenslet Array” in Help file, we can see the following description.“The array aspects of this object are provided for back compatibility with older versions of OpticStudio. A more efficient method that ray-traces more quickly is to make a single lenslet and then create an array using the Array Object - see “Array” for details. “However, at least when the number of lenslet is large, for instance 70 x 70 = 4900 cells, Array object is not always the best choise.The table shows the elapsed time comparison in updating 3D Layout and NSC ray tracing with the NSC mode system having 70 x 70 MLA. MLA is defined by Lenslet Array or Array.  Lenslet Array Array Updating 3D rayout 22 sec 2 sec (faster) NSC ray tracing (5E+5 rays) 1.8 min (faster) 9.1 min  Lenslet Array is 5 ti

Hi, everyone,I’m a student want to produce a line shape illumination and a newbie in Zemax.I use a Xenon lamp with narrow rectangular light source which has NA 0.57, hoping that by two orthogonal cylindrical lenses to concentrate the light to improve the light efficiency first, and then pass through a slit. Later pass through another two orthogonal cylindrical lenses and make the light collimated. However, this is not collimated enough for my f-theta lens. The dimensions are in attached files in detail, hoping who can give me suggestions of my illumination design, thank you very much! my goals:wavelength range: 450-650 umoutput line length: 8.8 mm in diffraction limitvariables: distance between the cylindrical lens or other suggestions for lens substitution is welcome. 

Hello,I am attempting to model a system that has 400 nm light emitting from a fiber, going through a lens, reaching a flat mirror, then retroreflecting back to the fiber. The scale of the system is on the order of a few mm. I am determining whether a GRIN lens or an asphere would work to have a small footprint back at the fiber while having minimal spherical aberration. I am currently modeling the system in sequential mode to keep the model as straightforward as possible until more complexity is required. However, when I am attempting to determine the aberration and footprint properties of the GRIN lens, I get the error message that double pass does not work for gradient surfaces like the GRIN lens I am testing. Is there a work-around to get the GRIN lens modeled properly with a double pass system? I can provide more information/context if needed. I would greatly appreciate any assistance.