I would like to simulate bulk scattering in non-sequential mode. However, the density of scattering centres in my material should not be homogeneous, but should increase as a function of the bulk width x. How is this possible? Is there already a .dll I could use? Thank you for your help!

There is no best approach to that question, I would just like to share with you my way of dealing with this, which is also the method that Joseph M. Geary uses and describes in his book ‘’Introduction to Lens Design’’. Because there is no versioning built-in Zemax OpticStudio, keeping track of the designs and their evolution can be tricky. It is very easy to lose track of how you got to a certain point indeed. Here is the protocol: -first 4 characters identify the system/project -5th character is a number to separate different design within the same system/project -6th character is the letter ‘’o’’ stands for optimization (I personally add ‘’p’’ for paraxial, ‘’s’’ for starting, ‘’t’’ for tolerance … as you like) -7th is a number which is the particular step of optimization -last is either ‘’a’’ or ‘’b’’, and stands for after or before the step For example, ‘’TRIP2o4b.zmx’’ is the Zemax file of the second design of a triplet system at the 4th step of optimization before the optimizat

Dear support team, I have problems understanding the behaviour of the PDL statement GETTEXTFILE in combination with the settingsfile: I am using GETTEXTFILE for Huygens PSF simulations. My questions: 1. Which settings are used if no settingsfile is given at all? It seems that in this case the settings that are saved with the 'save' button in the 'Huygns PSF' window are used. Is this correct and always the case? Does it additionaly depend on the 'flag' setting? 2. With flag=2 the settings box for the requested feature should be displayed. This doesn't seem to happen. No setting box appears. Or is this only the case in combination with an explicit  settingsfile? I tryed w/o settingsfile. 3. How can I make sure that the current  settings in the 'Huygns PSF' window are used for the simulation? Thank you and best regards, Christof. -- DR. CHRISTOF BODENDORF Max-Planck-Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics Division:&nbsp

Dear All, I'm trying to do ImageSimulation in ZOS-API with MATLAB. I want to output the simulated image as a MATLAB variable but couldn't. Unfortunately, the way explained in 'How do I output the image of an analysis in ZOS-API?' didn't work well.  Below is the part of my code I tried following the previous thread. It was confirmed that the lens data was properly loaded. TheSystem.LoadFile(testFile,false);  im_analysis = TheSystem.Analyses.New_ImageSimulation();  im_analysis.ApplyAndWaitForCompletion();  im_results = im_analysis.GetResults();  matrixData = im_results.DataGrids(1).Values.double;   What's wrong with my code? Thanks in advance for your help, Shimpei

Is there a way to tolerance irregularity on a 'Binary 2' surface type?

Hi there, I have created a standard beam splitting cube in non-sequential mode using two Prism90 polygons, with surface coatings of I.99 and I.50. I am now interested in making a polarizing beam splitter. What is the best way to go about this in a non-sequential mode? Thank you so much! 

It seems like there are a few different ways to model a Gaussian in OpticStudio. What way is best?

I need to constrain the output diameter of the CPC object. However this parameter is not available in the parameters. Do you have a work around for that?

What is the fastest way to collimate the light coming from a point object with a lens? I would like to optimize the position of the object, such as the light after the lens and hitting the image plane is collimated. An equivalent of minimizing RMS Angular radius in sequential mode.   I reversed the optics to use the quick focus tool to find the focal distance and then reversed them again, but I wonder if there is a “quick collimation” analogue to quick focus.   I hope I explained myself ;)

I am running some API code. It was working fine before, but now I am running it again and am getting the error 'Attribute Error: 'NoneType' object has no attribute 'ClearDetectors''. Why is this suddenly appearing?

Hello, I'm quite new to ZOS and I use the version 15 (yes, I know it's 5 years old but the upgrade is quite painful in my company). I wonder if I can find anywhere a synthetic log file with informations like the number of rays which where traced, the various non-blocking errors (such as geometric errors), the duration of the simulation, the amount of memory used and the like. Something like what I get with the Prescription Data button but with outpu data and not input data.   Regards

Is there a way to include minimum increment values to the compensator when performing tolerancing analysis, such that the compensator can only have a discrete number of values equally spaced within its range? I would like to simulate what effect the displacement resolution a piezo or stepper motor has when implementing these devices as a compensator in a physical experimental setup. Thank you.

Hello! I keep getting the error message: 'Cannot compute when chief ray cannot be traced!' during optimization using least squares method. The optimization interrupts and resumes once I click 'ok' or 'X' on the message pop-up window.  Any ideas how I could interrupt at the point where the error-message pops up to investigate the cause? Are there any options to automatically ignore this message and resume the optimization without having to click the message away manually? I am using the damped least squares optimization to optimize the shape of the example UD surface 'us_multizone_asphere' with two zones. I already tried different merit function operands without success. As it did not occur with simpler surface structures, I assume that some geometric surface constraints are required. Any ideas how to approach this (e.g. setting appropiate geometry constraints...)? Thank you! Simon

Hello, I'm using one of your examples from here: https://my.zemax.com/en-US/Knowledge-Base/kb-article/?ka=KA-01355 I want to use 1550 nm as a wavelengh however, the dispersion diagram for the materials don't have data for that wavelength - graph below. Is there anyway to overcome this? Thank you, Narciso

Is it possible to somehow create an axis break in the 3D layout when working in non-sequential mode? For example, if in my layout I have a beam source that hits an object that is a very long distance away, with no other objects along this path. I want to be able to see everything in the layout without having to zoom out so much that I can't see any of the details in the layout. Is there a way to create a sort of axis break that hides a large portion of the path?

What is the purpose of the Ref Object column? What does it do?

Hello, I'd like to run two different optimizations with different merit functions through Matlab. Before running the second optimization, I need to change the Solve Type of some thicknesses and radii to variables. The following code provides the current solve type, but it is a read-only property. Is there some way to change the solve type using Matlab?  TheLDE = TheSystem.LDE; S1_CollSolve = TheLDE.GetSurfaceAt(52); S1_CollSolve.ThicknessCell.Solve Thanks for your help. Best, Jon

Operands may be used as dependent variables in Universal Plots. However, there are some cases where I use a ZPLM and the plot shows a straight line of constant value, instead of the curve I expect to see. 

Please can Zemax change the way it installs updates.  I don't know of any other software that installs updates as a new application and leaves behind clutter like this (16 separate instances are listed in my app list).  And of course the list just keeps getting longer with every update Zemax brings out.  Is it safe to delet the old versions?  If it is then it shouldn't be left to the user to clear up Zemax's mess, it should be done automatically at the end of an update installation .  If it isn't then you should change it so that there is only one app listed and ensure it isn't taking up unnecessary storage space.  As it stands it doesn't give me with confidence that OpticStudio isn't going to crash my system at some point. Andrew

I'm using the python interface to ZOS API. I am trying to set the power on a source in the NSE. I can't seem to set this attribute. I am able to set the position, angle, source charateristics etc. any ideas? Code: (at least enough to illustrate what I'm doing...) NSCE = TheSystem.NCE S = NSCE.InsertNewObjectAt(1) S.ChangeType(S.GetObjectTypeSettings(constants.ObjectType_SourceDiode)) # This works fine. S.XPosition = DiodeFaceAtRadius ObjectSrc = CastTo(S.ObjectData, 'IObjectSources') # Neither one of these stements does anything. ObjectSrc.Power = 1.0 ObjectSrc.NumberOfLayoutRays = 100 # This works fine. ADiodeSrc = CastTo(S.ObjectData, 'IObjectSourceDiode') ADiodeSrc = CastTo(S.ObjectData, 'IObjectSourceDiode') ADiodeSrc.DeltaX = 0.18

With the OpticStudio 20.2 release, the way we connect to Python has changed from using the COM interface to using .NET. Are there any differences in how the API code is implemented in Python after this change?

Is there a way to get the Prescription Data Report using the Matlab ZOS_API? I've been trying: prescriptionData = ZOSAPI.Analysis.AnalysisIDM.PrescriptionDataSettings; But that seems to return an 'AnalysisIDM' object. My goal is to have the Prescription data as a struct but just a text file like the Report generated from the Analyze Tab would be great. Thank you for your time!

How can I specify a “roll” tolerance of one doublet element relative to another? “Roll” in this sense this is the decentration that can occur during cementing a doublet. One of the pair is assumed fixed and the other is rotated radially along the radius between them. Thank you, John

Hello everybody! I'm working with Zemax Opticstudio to design a micro-optical system which would allow me to couple efficiently a laser-diode to an optical fiber. (I'm a poorly self taught zemax user...) Due to mechanical and spatial requirements, I'm not able to use regular lenses to perform the fiber coupling, but instead I have to use a periscope to divert my light rays from the source to the fiber. Specifically, the periscope should receive the rays from the source (propagation along Z axis), reflect them upwards along the Y axis (+90deg fold), and then reflect them once again backwards (+90deg fold), so they'll back-propagate towards the fiber (propagation along -Z axis). The periscope will be a single optical element, made with precision molding. Therefore the rays are emitted from the source, they travel in air and then enter the periscope (surface_1). From surface_1, they propagate in a dielectric material to the first mirror (surface_2) for a thickness_1, they

Hi all, I have had a difficult time trying to model a 12mm collimated input beam going into a 25.4mm focal length plano-convex lens (LA1951-B-ML, THORLABS). Calculations indicate that I expect a focussed Gaussian spot of around 3.5 micron diameter. Having read through the 'Using Physical Optics Propagation (POP)' articles, I believe this is due to a phase sampling issue. Setup POP Settings - High Sampling Upon running a highly sampled POP simulation, there is no phase difference across the incident beam from the free-space around it (at Surfaces 1 and 2). Surface 2 - Irradiance Surface 2 - Phase At Surface 3 (the curved lens surface) I observe a poorly sampled phase ring (aliasing), even while fixing the X-Y frame widths and using the highest default sampling rate. Surface 3 - Phase (4x zoom) This then cascades into the remaining surfaces, distorting the expected Gaussian profile of the beam. Surface 4 - Highlighted on Layout Tab Surface 4 - Irradiance (4x zoom) Surface 4 -