Skip to main content

People & Pointers

Use this space to show off your skills, introduce yourself, or to chat about the latest in the world of optics.

  • 209 Topics
  • 872 Replies
209 Topics
E
Zemax Staff
Erin.ElliottZemax Staff
posted in People & Pointers
Using source rays to quickly set up systems in nonsequential mode

 Nonsequential mode is designed to quickly trace millions of rays through complex geometries.  But for the setup or initial optimizations of systems, it is sometimes useful to trace and optimize just a few important rays.  One can use the NSTR operand and the Source Ray objects to do this.  The process requires some manual setup, but can easily be automated using the ZOS-API.As an example, I have a system that contains a plate and an off-axis parabola (OAP).  I’ve manually moved the detector, but I would like it to be centered on the gut ray and tilted to find the image.An off-axis system in need of detector positioning.In the Nonsequential Component Editor (NCE), I’ve added 9 Source Ray objects.  I’m separating them in the Y direction, at field points of 0, 0.2° in +Y, and 0.2° in +X.  Each set of three rays that have the same field angle should come to a focus in the image plane, as shown in the layout plot below. Adding individual rays in the Nonsequential Component Editor (NCE).A l

2262
E
Zemax Staff
8 months ago
Mark.Nicholson
Luminary
Mark.NicholsonLuminary
posted in People & Pointers
New Book: Optics Using Python

Hey Peeps,SPIE has a new book out: https://spie.org/Publications/Book/100014 called Optics Using Python.I have bought but not received a copy yet, so no review, but it looks interesting and generally applicable to anyone who uses Python to connect to ZOS-API.Mark 

2523
chaasjes
8 months ago
saif
saifMonochrome
asked in People & Pointers
Designing off-axis parabolic mirror with coordinate points

Dear ExpertsI have calculated two end coordinate points of an off-axis parabolic mirror lets say (184, 13.5) and (217, 18.8), may i ask if i can design this mirror in zemax by using these coordinate points and focal length of 200 micron.  Please advise All units are in micrometer. sincerelysaif

592
saif
8 months ago
Michael Cheng
Zemax Staff
Michael ChengZemax Staff
posted in People & Pointers
Alternative way to simulate for coherence length

In OpticStudio, an option is available for assigning Coherence Length to a source as shown below. This works based on randomizing the wavelength of each ray. In this post, an another method is demonstrated for simulating coherence length. In this method, it’s assume light with different wavelength cannot interfere. In other words, the interference pattern of a multi-wavelength source is the incoherent sum of the interference pattern of each wavelength themselves.In fact, light with different wavelength could interfere. However, the interference pattern cannot be detected because the pattern changes with very high frequency and vanishes when sensor averages it over time. The following picture explains it. To calculate the interference pattern of each wavelength and incoherently sum them, we need to do it manually. Here we provide a simple case and an ZOS-API code to demonstrate how to do it.To see how it works, users just need to open the attached ZAR file, turn on Interactive Extension

137513
tk1234
9 months ago
E
Zemax Staff
Erin.ElliottZemax Staff
posted in People & Pointers
Add a dummy surface at the Entrance Pupil of a system

Like the exit pupil, the entrance pupil can be found using real rays; rays at different field angles must cross at any internal pupil of the system.  Adding a dummy surface at the location of the entrance pupil allows us to place optimization operands on that surface, to control location, diameter, tilt, etc. of the entrance pupil.  Finding the entrance pupils is especially useful in the case of wide-angle systems, where the entrance pupil may be decentered and tilted, leading to images that are significantly darker at the edges.In the wide-angle system shown below, the full field of view is 100 degrees and the stop is in the center of the system, as shown below.  Using the Draw Real Entrance Pupil option in the 3D Viewer shows that the entrance pupil moves down and to the left with increasing field angle.A system with a full FOV of 100 degrees, with the entrance pupil shown for each field angle.Isometric view showing the outline of the entrance pupil at each field angle.Below, I’ve se

2662
E
Zemax Staff
10 months ago
Jeff.Wilde
Luminary
Jeff.WildeLuminary
posted in People & Pointers
Perfect Lens DLL (User-Defined Sequential Surface): The Cardinal Lens Model

Over a year ago, I posted an initial version of a user-defined surface that models an idealized perfect lens satisfying the sine condition, see:This is distinctly different than a paraxial lens surface that does not, in general, satisfy the sine condition.  As a result, a paraxial lens is a poor substitute for a well-corrected high-NA lens (e.g., a microscope objective, in which a paraxial version yields the wrong NA for a given EPD, and vice versa).Since my initial posting, I have revised the model and published the details in Applied Optics.  The new model simulates both a perfect imaging lens and a perfect Fourier transform lens.  The paper, as well as the DLL and several example model files, are all freely available at:Ray-tracing model of a perfect lens compliant with Fermat’s principle: the Cardinal Lens .I’ve removed the older version of the DLL now that this new one is available.Please feel free to try it out and provide feedback.Regards,Jeff

4443
Jeff.Wilde
Luminary
10 months ago
E
Zemax Staff
Erin.ElliottZemax Staff
posted in People & Pointers
Find the exit pupil using real rays

Hi, everyone.  Often, we need to control the size and location of the exit pupil in an optical design so that filters or other elements can be placed there.  It’s fairly easy to place a dummy surface at the exit pupil and then use operands on thickness, diameter, or global position to control the exit pupil location and size.For the Double Gauss system below, I’ve added two surfaces at rows 13 and 14: one going to the exit pupil, and one returning to the original position using a pickup.  Surface 14 will be located at the exit pupil, then.  I’ve also moved the original thickness traveled to the image plane down to surface 15, preceding the image plane. Additional surfaces inserted so that surface 14 can be optimized to fall at the exit pupil.To move the dummy surface to the exit pupil, I rely on the fact that rays that intersect at the stop should also intersect (or nearly so) at the exit pupil.  To find the Z location of the exit pupil at wavelength 2 for the on-axis field position, I

4653
E
Zemax Staff
10 months ago
Alissa Wilczynski
Zemax Staff
Alissa WilczynskiZemax Staff
posted in People & Pointers
Efficiency Tips & Tricks for OpticStudio

Share your tips & tricks for efficiently using OpticStudio with the community!  There are lots of little ways that we adapt our use of OpticStudio to streamline our work. These are usually learned over time, from colleagues, or from technical support, but they aren't typically found in other product education resources. You might have a favorite keyboard shortcut, saved settings for a particular analysis, a macro that automates 3 steps in your process tied to a hotkey, or a million other ideas. Help your fellow OpticStudio users and learn some new tricks yourself.

337636
Jay.Bernal
10 months ago
E
Zemax Staff
Erin.ElliottZemax Staff
posted in People & Pointers
Listing the Q-bfs Polynomials

OpticStudio supports Q-type aspheres.  Type 0 indicates Qbfs polynomials, and Type 1 indicates Qcon polynomials.  The functional forms of the Q-type polynomials are fairly complex due to the requirement that the polynomials be orthonormal for a circular aperture.  Occasionally, it is convenient to know the functional form of the polynomials for testing and comparison purposes. Below, we list the first 10 Qbfs polynomials, and also share how to calculate them in the Mathematica file GenerateQbfsPolynomials.nb.  The .nb files for Mathematica can be used by downloading the free Wolfram Player: https://www.wolfram.com/player/.Important equations for the Q-bfs polynomialsThe equations used below come from Shape specification for axially symmetric optical surfaces, G.W. Forbes, Optics Express 5218, Vol. 15, No. 8, 16 Apr 2007.  Forbes watned to find a function whose slopes are orthogonal.  So the slope equations must obey:where u is the radial coordinate in the aperture of an optical surface

117922
Mark.Nicholson
Luminary
11 months ago
E
Zemax Staff
Erin.ElliottZemax Staff
posted in People & Pointers
Asphericity of aspheric and freeform parts

Asphericity is a useful value when manufacturing an asphere or a freeform surface.  It is typically defined as the distance between the smallest best-fit sphere (BFS) that touches the surface without intersecting and the ideal surface shape, as sketched below.  (The BFS usually contacts the surface at one radial location; in the part sketched below, the BFS contacts the part at the outer edge.) OpticStudio can return both the BFS and the asphericity using the Surface Sag map and/or the DSAG operand in the Merit Function.  Choose Analyze/Surface/Sag to open the Sag map of the surface and then set “Remove” to “Best Fit Sphere” with the “Minimum Volume” option, as shown below.  The peak-to-valley of the resulting plot is the asphericity.  The radius of curvature of the minimum volume BFS is also listed.Use the Surface Sag map to find the asphericity of a surface.Both values can also be retrieved using the DSAG operand with Remove = 2 and BFS = 0.  Data = 2 retrieves the P-V of the sag map

1950
E
Zemax Staff
11 months ago
Berta.Bernad
Zemax Staff
Berta.BernadZemax Staff
posted in People & Pointers
How do I make a cylindrical detector?

Although there is no a “Cylindrical Detector” object in Non-Sequential, there are several workarounds to make it, since most objects may act like a detector (To make any objects a detector, choose "Object Is A Detector" from the Type tab of the Object Properties dialog box). Once the object is set to be a detector, the intensity detected will be displayed on the Shaded Model display, and on the text listing tab of the Detector Viewer window. There is a Cylinder Pipe object in OpticStudio but it cannot be used as a detector because the curves of the object are modelled exactly within OS—the curves are not approximated by facets. Only objects which are faceted can be used as detectors. But there are some alternative object types that all have a faceted representation and so would work as a detector: You could create a cylinder pipe object and then export it as a STL file and use this new object as your detector. (See Export CAD files: The File Tab > Export Group > CAD

1881
kobih
11 months ago
David
Luminary
DavidLuminary
posted in People & Pointers
Convert to NSC Group is wonderful

Every time I use Convert to NSC Group I’m amazed at how useful it is. I well remember life without it. Thank you for the gift that keeps on giving. And Merry Christmas to all!

390
David
Luminary
11 months ago
MostPeys
MostPeysSingle Emitter
asked in People & Pointers
Beam splitting Rhomb

Hello,I'm currently working on simulating a splitting rhomb with one input and three outputs, each responsible for 33% of the total power. After completing the design in the 3D CAD model, I imported it into Zemax non-sequential and exploded the CAD model. However, I've encountered an issue: despite applying a 33% coating to the faces of the rhombs in Zemax, the software seems to ignore it, allowing the beam to pass through unaffected. Any insights on how to resolve this would be greatly appreciated.  

701
David
Luminary
1 year ago
Jeff.Wilde
Luminary
Jeff.WildeLuminary
posted in People & Pointers
Modeling speckle

Speckle is created by the interference of multiple, mutually coherent optical fields that have random phases at any point on a detection surface.  This could be associated with laser light scattering from a rough surface or from the interference of multiple modes emanating from a multimode fiber.  For multimode fibers, it may be best to use POP in a sequential model in which the beam leaving the fiber is modeled as a coherent superposition of LP (or LG) modes.  Alternatively, we show here how a simple non-sequential ray-based model can be used to simulate speckle arising from rough-surface scattering. To model light leaving a rough surface, we can employ Huygens’ Principle and use a set of point sources that are randomly phased over (0,2pi).  This assumes the height variations on the surface are large enough to create such a random process.  Ideally, we would use a single non-sequential source that emits rays uniformly over some spatial region and within a defined cone angle.  However,

13438
Jeff.Wilde
Luminary
1 year ago
E
Zemax Staff
Erin.ElliottZemax Staff
posted in People & Pointers
Listing of Zernike Standard polynomials in polar and cartesian coordinates

Hi all.  It is frequently useful to have the Zernike Standard Polynomials available in Cartesian form, rather than just in the standard polar form.  The Cartesian forms can be used for a few different things, such as:Generating or fitting data that is sampled on a uniform XY grid Converting Zernikes into other surface shapes, such as Extended Polynomials.Below, I’ve listed the first 37 Standard Zernike coefficients.  See the attached files for all 231 terms in text form and a Mathematica notebook that generates them. (See https://www.wolfram.com/player/ to read the .nb file.) 

3594
Mark.Nicholson
Luminary
1 year ago
Brian.Catanzaro
Fully Spectral
Brian.CatanzaroFully Spectral
posted in People & Pointers
Open file format for optical design / JSON or otherwise?

Long ago, people reverse engineered the .zmx file format.  However, this was never a supported file format.What interest exists for an open source file format for lens systems?Such a file format (analogous to STEP) would enable inter-operability between commercial and open source software.Not all of us can afford to purchase all the software that Ansys offers.  I can’t work entirely in the Ansys eco-system.  Can you?  An open source format would allow me to work better with other software vendors and state-of-the-art software developed in universities or in open source.

2093
Mark.Nicholson
Luminary
1 year ago
Christophe.Weisse
Christophe.WeisseInfrared
asked in People & Pointers
How to perform surface tilt & decenter (& surface irregularities) tolerancing in non-sequential mode ?

For some use-cases it is more convenient to use pure non-sequential mode, for multi-pass systems for instance. Performing a tolerance analysis for surface tilts & decenters is not available with standard non-sequential tolerance operands:TNPS can be used of course for element tilt & decenter, TNPA can be used to tolerance the object parameter values, but surface tilt/decenter is not a parameter for most non-sequential geometries (standard lens, even asphere, for instance)An option is then to use the compound lens object, together with Biconic Zernike Surfaces:The Biconic Zernike Surfaces can be used to model a wide range of lens shapes, from standard to biconic, aspheres and Zernike Standard Sag Surface, as their sag is a combination of those sag definitions:The other benefit of using this particular type of surface is that it also has tilts & decenters parameters:Zernike terms Z2/Z3 can be used for X/Y tilts, for each surface, Biconic Zernike Surfaces have built-in X/Y dec

1760
Christophe.Weisse
1 year ago
Christophe.Weisse
Christophe.WeisseInfrared
asked in People & Pointers
How to tolerance for coma ?

This question came up in a support call, as coma was clearly the worst offender in the system.The strategy here is to use the Merit Function value and use it as the criterion for tolerancing.The issue is that the COMA operand is calculated from the Seidel coefficients, and is not valid for non paraxial systems. The values are then not accurate for systems with tilts & decenters, and can then not be used for tilt & decenter tolerance analyses.The solution is to use the formula used by the Full Field Aberration tool: As described in the help file, the coma computation is using Zernike terms:We can then build the Merit Function accordingly: The quadratic sum operand QSUM is the only one to have a non-zero weight, the value of the Merit Function will then return the coma. 

1200
Christophe.Weisse
1 year ago
Brian.Catanzaro
Fully Spectral
Brian.CatanzaroFully Spectral
posted in People & Pointers
Composite Surface vs. Several Zero Thickness surfaces?

https://support.zemax.com/hc/en-us/articles/10648753483539-Introduction-to-Composite-Surface What are the pro’s / con’s of Composite Surfaces?What are the use cases for several zero thickness surfaces vs. using a composite surface?  

561
E
Zemax Staff
1 year ago
E
Zemax Staff
Erin.ElliottZemax Staff
posted in People & Pointers
The easiest way to tolerance an off-axis mirror

Many off-axis mirrors are constructed using an off-axis aperture on a “parent” mirror.  This can make tolerancing difficult, since the perturbations must be applied at the vertex of the off-axis aperture.  Tolerancing can be easily and correctly set up using the Composite surface and Tilt/Decenter tool in OpticStudio, as shown below for an off-axis parabola (OAP).In this OAP file, the parent is shifted down from the stop so that the gut ray (at Px=Py=Hx=Hy=0) strikes the vertex of the off-axis mirror.  We have set the global coordinate reference to the parent mirror, and used RAGX/Y/Z operands in the Merit Function to locate the vertex of the off-axis part.An off-axis parabola created by adding an off-axis aperture to a parent parabolaTo prepare for tolerancing, we use the vertex coordinates to set up a pivot about the off-axis vertex, using the Tilt/Decenter Elements tool (located in the toolbar of the Lens Data Editor).  We insert two Composite surfaces before the OAP, and use the Se

6220
E
Zemax Staff
1 year ago
Tom Pickering
Ultraviolet
Tom PickeringUltraviolet
posted in People & Pointers
Feature Experiment Feedback: Ray Aiming Wizard

In OpticStudio 22.1, we have improved the performance of our ray aiming algorithm for innovative applications that require a wide field-of-view (such as machine vision, surveillance cameras on drones, autonomous vehicles as well as cell phone lenses). Significant improvements have been made to address issues such as “cannot trace” errors and discontinuities in analyses that can occur when using ray aiming. These improvements are referred to as Enhanced Ray Aiming, and with the 22.1 release, we are first supporting rotationally symmetric wide field-of-view systems.The OpticStudio 22.1 release also features one exciting new Feature Experiment, called the Ray Aiming Wizard. This tool provides the necessary data for you to determine the optimal ray-aiming settings for your system, including the new Enhanced Ray Aiming method. With the new Ray Aiming Wizard, you will know when and how to use ray aiming to get accurate system analysis and modeling. You can find this tool in the Ray Aiming se

56811
MichaelH
Luminary
1 year ago
E
Zemax Staff
Erin.ElliottZemax Staff
posted in People & Pointers
Easily add measured data to any surface using the Composite property

Measured interferometric data can be added to optical surfaces in OpticStudio using the Grid Sag surface.  We provide an automated method for converting .INT files into the .DAT format used by the Grid Sag in the File/Convert File Formats tab, as shown below.  This method works well when the optical surface being measured is a Standard or Even Asphere shape.  For other surface shapes, it was necessary to convert to a Grid Phase surface (which can cause XY position errors) or to place the underlying optical surface shape into the sampled data (which converts an analytic surface to a sampled one, for a loss of precision and speed during raytracing).  Both methods also require data manipulation outside of OpticStudio.With the new Composite surface capability, interferometric data can be easily added to any surface shape, and the accuracy and speed of raytracing is preserved.  Users can convert the data from .INT to .DAT as before, and then place a Grid Sag surface before the optical surfa

1864
John.Hygelund
Fully Spectral
1 year ago
H
Hideki.KidaSingle Emitter
asked in People & Pointers
Could not renew licence.

I could not renew my ZEMAX support contract because I am self-employed.My licence is a perpetual licence, which means that I can continue to use ZEMAX only in its current version.I will continue to have questions about how to use ZEMAX.I am looking for a place to discuss ZEMAX after I no longer have access to this community and for people to personally advise me on ZEMAX.If you know of anyone who might be able to help, I would be grateful if you could respond. My email address is. optics@nifty.comKIDA Hideki 

976
Nicholas Herringer
Zemax Staff
1 year ago
Xu Chen
Xu ChenMonochrome
asked in People & Pointers
Modeling and Mitigating Surface Aberrations and Irregularities through Using Composite Surfaces

One of the many uses of OpticStudio composite surfaces is that they offer a powerful tool to analyze and manipulate optical surface irregularities. They enable the addition of multiple sag profiles to create complex surface distributions. Therefore, users can stack multiple surfaces to study various optical effects. To demonstrate this usage, we will use an achromat lens with composite surfaces configured through the multi-configuration editor.  One of the critical elements in this approach is the correct utilization of the Zernike fringe sag surface type on the add-on composite surface. This surface choice allows us to convert Seidel aberrations from Zernike expansion coefficient terms. Consequently, by manipulating the parameters on this surface within the multi-configuration editor, we can effectively manage the Seidel aberrations arising from the surface irregularity. As a designer, one can follow this step-by-step guide to analyze, model, and mitigate surface aberrations and irreg

3081
Xu Chen
1 year ago
E
Zemax Staff
Erin.ElliottZemax Staff
asked in People & Pointers
Listing the Q-con Polynomials

Generating the Q­con polynomialsOpticStudio supports Q-type aspheres.  Type 0 indicates Qbfs polynomials, and Type 1 indicates Qcon polynomials.  The functional forms of the Q-type polynomials are fairly complex due to the requirement that the polynomials be orthonormal for a circular aperture.  Occasionally, it is convenient to know the functional form of the polynomials for testing and comparison purposes. Below, we list the first 20 Qcon polynomials, and also share the derivation in the Mathematica file GenerateQConPolynomials.nb.  The .nb files for Mathematica can be used by downloading the free Wolfram Player: https://www.wolfram.com/player/.Important equations for the Qcon polynomialsThe Qcon polynomials can be calculated in a straightforward way using an equation for the Jacobi polynomials.From Shape specification for axially symmetric optical surfaces, G.W. Forbes, Optics Express 5218, Vol. 15, No. 8, 16 Apr 2007, the polynomials are related to the Jacobi by:Definitions for the

3951
Kevin Scales
En-Lightened
1 year ago

Badge winners

Show all badges
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