Hi all! Thanks for the question here Matt, and thanks also, David, for providing some feedback!



I just wanted to chime in here to add a bit more information. For one, I don't think the Gaussian Apodization Factor will produce the same distribution as a super-Gaussian. Rather, the Apodization Factor will change the distribution of rays in the pupil with the following equation,







where G is the Apodization Factor and rho is the normalized pupil coordinate. For a super-Gaussian, it can be described by the equation







where n is the super-Gaussian factor (equation obtained from https://www.rp-photonics.com/flat_top_beams.html). So, changing the Apodization Factor wouldn't quite be appropriate here.



Currently, there is no direct way to define a beam profile to achieve the super-Gaussian distribution, but there are a couple of workarounds that could be done here:



1) Create a .ZBF file which defines a super-Gaussian beam to use in Physical Optics Propagation (POP)



In POP, you have several definitions for your input beam in the Beam Definition tab. One of the Beam Type options is "File," which can take in an arbitrary .ZBF format file. Using either binary or ASCII format, you can define a beam profile which outputs a super-Gaussian distribution--the only limitation here being that this beam is only being used in the POP analysis. You can find some information on defining the .ZBF in our Help Files at "The Analyze Tab (sequential ui mode) > Laser and Fibers Group > About Physical Optics Propagation > Defining the Initial Beam > File (defining the initial beam)":







2) Create a User Defined Surface (UDS) with the transmittance to create a super-Gaussian distribution



This approach is certainly more work to take on, but with the correct implementation, you could create a UDS with a radial transmittance definition to create the super-Gaussian shape you'd like. This way will require writing some C\C++ code and compiling it into a .DLL for use with the UDS, but with this approach, you'd be able to use all the ray-trace analyses rather than just using POP, if that is what suits your needs. For more information, you can take a look in the Help Files at "The Setup Tab > Editors Group (Setup Tab) > Lens Data Editor > Sequential Surfaces (lens data editor) > User Defined" as well as our provided sample code files for different surface types (the default file path for the source .C files is "C:\ ... \Zemax\DLL\Surfaces"). There is also a Knowledgebase article called "How to compile a User-Defined surface" which walks through compiling your code into a .DLL.



Of the two methods, the most straight-forward one is, in my opinion, creating a .ZBF file for use in POP. The trade-off there would then be using only POP for that distribution, but depending on your analysis needs, you might be using that tool anyway.



Feel free to add any any details here if you think I've missed something!