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tilted mirror with aperture

  • 17 March 2022
  • 4 replies
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Hi,

Before asking my question I anticipate I started working with OpticStudio only few weeks ago so I am a newbie with it. 

I need to create a concave and a flat mirror (but I guess the solution is the same) having a circular aperture in the center (or in a decentrered position).

In sequential mode, I created (successfully) two tilted curved mirrors producing their image on a plane,  but now I need to place an aperture in the first one without changing anything else.

I tried to modify the first mirror switching it in non-sequential mode and creating a group composed by the mirror and inside it, as second element, a standard surface (same position and curvature as the mirror) but although this solution seems to work as expected I cannot tilt it. So I wonder which is the best approach to solve this problem.

 

Thank you very much for any tips you can provide me

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Best answer by David.Nguyen 18 March 2022, 14:20

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Hi Almax,

 

I’m not entirely sure what you’d like to do, but in Sequential mode, you can setup apertures on your surfaces. To do so, you can double-click on the surface of interest, which will open its properties, and go to the Aperture tab. You can then choose Aperture Type: Circular Aperture and adjust the Minimum RadiusMaximum Radius, Aperture X-Decenter, and Aperture Y-Decenter.

In Non-Sequential mode, you should be able to tilt the assembly you described. It is a good idea to overlap the standard surface with a cylinder volume (nested rule) to create the aperture as this will give among the fastest results with raytracing. The trick is perhaps to use the Ref Object column and a dummy (Null) object. I’m showing an example below:

By referencing the cylinder to the surface and the surface to the null object you can apply a tilt by simply changing the value of the Tilt About… columns.

In case my example is not clear, the reason the cylinder works as an aperture is because it is made of air, and when two objects intersect, it is the properties of the latest (greater object number) in the non-sequential data editor that prevail.

Let me know if this helps.

Take care,

 

David

Hi David,

first of all thank you for your reply.

your example is clear and solved my problem. Just to clarify an aspect, once tilted the mirror, how can I change the angle of the image plane correspondingly? I tried to add a coordinate break before the non sequential component but it does not work.

thank you again

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Userlevel 7
Badge +2

Hi Almax,

 

My pleasure. You may want to have a look at this thread.

Let me know if it doesn’t solve your issue.

Take care,


David

Hi David,

With reference again to your examples, I need to ask you some more clarifications:

  • Sequential scheme: it is clear, everything works in reflection but I cannot make rays propagate through the aperture. I am trying to propagate reflected (-z direction) rays for 750mm but I need also a propagation of 1000mm in the +z direction. I cannot achieve the latter. I guess I am not allowed to do this in a sequential scheme.

 

  • Non sequential example. I defined a non sequential object composed by a flat mirror with an aperture facing a tilted concave (spherical) mirror. The latter reflects rays coming from the aperture again on the flat mirror. Then I assign a value to the Exit Loc Z parameter in the Lens Data, relative to the NSC, to propagate rays towards the image plane. 

I add a dummy and a coordinate break surface just after the NSC and before the IMAGE one.

If the image plane is after the curved mirror, the conjugate point is correctly identified, but if the image is formed on a plane located in between the flat and the curved mirror, ray propagation is stopped and I cannot evaluate it anymore. 

Is there a way to overcome this problem?

 

Thank you again

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