Skip to main content

Hi - I am seeking some information or answers regarding feasibility of modeling non-uniform refractive indicies in the following scenario.  I have a cavity with fluid flowing through it at steady state; the beam passes through this cavity as well.  The fluid flow analysis predicts variations in fluid properties throughout the cavity's volume and therefore variations in refractive indicies.



So my question:  Is it possible, in some way, to model the spatially dependent refractive indicies, which are somewhat irregular because they are not symmetric (e.g. rotationally) or easily characterized by a simple axial or radial equation.  Essentially, I'm wondering if I can discretize the volume, like an FEM-type analysis.  Is this feasible or practically possible?  How about DLLs?



 



Regards,



Colin

Hi Colin,



Thank you for your post!



The way OpticStudio deals with non-uniform refractive index in a volume is through the Gradient Index surface type. You can find a detailed description in the Help File at The Setup Tab > Editors Group (Setup Tab) > Lens Data Editor > Sequential Surfaces (lens data editor) > Sequential Surface Types by Category. Some of the Gradient Index surface types provide radially symmetric index distribution, some allow different variation along X and Y, and ultimately, you can always use the Grid Gradient surface type where the volumn index is modeled using 3D grid of points. The Help File also provides detail on how to use each of these surface types. 





Let us know if one of these options works for you. 



Best regards,



Hui



 

Reply


Community Posting GuidelinesCookie settings


Zemax Community

Need more help?

To Chinese users:

Do not provide any information or data that is restricted by applicable law, including by the People’s Republic of China’s Cybersecurity and Data Security Laws ( e.g., Important Data, National Core Data, etc.).


不要提供任何受适用法律，包括中华人民共和国的网络安全和数据安全法限制的信息或数据（如重要数据、国家核心数据等）。



Privacy policy   License Agreements    Terms of use    Cookie Policy   Zemax Account Licensing Policies