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23 Topics
Giles Sheppard
Giles SheppardSingle Emitter
asked in Got a question?
MTF tolerancing focus errors - Can I use RMS spot metric to refocus during MTF tolerancing?

New Zemax user, long time CodeV userI am attempting to do a tolerancing exercise on a lens, but some Monte Carlo results are not focusing correctly.  I suspect it is something to do with the default focus optimization for MTF tolerancing being wavefront optimization (which is bad at finding best focus even in the optimizer stand-alone when I open the worst Monte Carlo result and manually optimize).Is there a way to tell the refocus method within the tolerancing function to use RMS spot optimization?  Or does someone have other wisdom to offer?

303
Giles Sheppard
AsafPe
AsafPeMonochrome
asked in Got a question?
Diffraction grating line frequency

Hi,I ordered a Blazed (Ruled) Grating and datasheet specify 1200 Grooves/mmWhat is the Lines/um I should use in for the Diffraction grating surface to simulate that? Thanks

233
David.Nguyen
Luminary
Ryan.Burdick
Ryan.BurdickMonochrome
asked in Got a question?
Does the GENF operand include or exclude rays vignetted before the image plane?

When using the geometric encircled energy (fraction) operand, GENF, does the fractional energy calculation include rays that are vignetted by elements before the image plane in the total energy part of the calculation?For example, suppose 100 rays are launched from the object. 5 rays are blocked by some aperture in the middle of the optical system. At the image plane, 90 rays land within the radius set by GENF. 5 rays made it to the image plane, but they landed outside of the radius set by GENF.Is the fractional energy returned by GENF 90/100 = 90%? Or is the fractional energy 90/95 = 94.7%?

301
Jeff.Wilde
Luminary
jsung
jsungVisible
asked in Got a question?
How to model surface scatter for Mold-tech or VDI textures

I often need to model lenses or diffuser plate with some texture grains applied on some part of it. Normally it’s called out as Mold-tech or VDI texture grain, which are commonly used for surface diffusing optical elements.The question is how do I apply that correctly in the Zemax optical model. Is there any DLL library for that or should I use Gaussian or AGg to approximate that? Problem is there is no available data to correlate such scatter model to Mold-tech definitions.

572
jsung
Alex.Signell
Alex.SignellSingle Emitter
asked in Got a question?
Spot size heat map with M^2 over 1

I’m trying to make heatmaps of beam spot size in a 2-mirror scanning system using a gaussian beam with an M Squared other than 1. I am able to get spot size information for a beam with M Squared over 1 along the optical axis using the Paraxial Gaussian Beam analysis but not in other parts of the field. Is there any way to do this or am I just limited to the optical axis. 

160
Alex.Signell
pricecj
pricecjMonochrome
asked in Got a question?
Focal position shift with beam divergence (NSC).

I have setup a simple experiment in non-sequential mode to test the effect of beam divergence on focal position. The lens file I am using is from the Thorlabs website (f=250 mm, VIS achromat). I set the divergence value (or collimation) using a Gaussian Source with the appropriate beam size and position (P) values, and then scan a detector rectangle along the optical axis measuring the beam waist a various locations. Contrary to my knowledge of  geometric optics, the focal position shifts closer to the focusing lens with increasing beam divergence; I am using divergence angles of 0.04-0.08 mrads (half angle). Interestingly, when I set the Position value to give a converging beam, the focal position shifts away from the focusing lens. I’m concerned that there is something that I have missed when constructing this model, and was wondering if anyone could help? I have uploaded my Zemax file for convenience. Many thanks, Chris. 

774
pricecj
ellenlee619
ellenlee619Single Emitter
asked in DLLs
Validating FIXED_DATA5 parameters

What is the best way to validate that the parameters input by the user are valid? For example, say that I have a parameter “n_rows” that needs to be an integer greater than zero. Should I check this upon initialization of the DLL (case 8)? If the input is invalid, should I then change the corresponding FD->param[i] it to be a valid value (e.g., if the user input 0 then change it to 1)? Or is this a bad idea? The example files state that the DLL should only modify FIXED_DATA in case 7, when Zemax is asking for safe data. Thanks

190
ellenlee619
L
Luca.OggioniMonochrome
asked in ZOS-API
Error using ZOS-API in Matlab

My codes (that were working with the 2024 version) do not work anymore with the 2025 release.this is the error I get in the function “InitConnection()”:Message: Could not load file or assembly 'ZemaxEngine.dll' or one of its dependencies. The dynamic link library (DLL) initialization routine failed. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x8007045A)Source: mscorlibHelpLink: None

1204
Julia
Fully Spectral
satoru
satoru
asked in DLLs
バルク散乱モデルの設計方法について

溶液中に存在する粒子の吸光、散乱を評価できるようなモデルをノンシーケンシャル系で作成していて質問があります。Mie.1dllを使用し、光源、溶液、ディテクタの３つのオブジェクトで評価しているのですが、Particle Indexの設定時にわからないことがございます。シェードモデルで光線を確認しながらParticle indexを大きく（初期値から溶液の屈折率より上）していくと、散乱が発生する回数が増える事象が起きました。（光線を保存して光線データベースビューアで確認し、実際に代わっていることも確認しました）想定では屈折率が変わったときに散乱方向や散乱強度に影響はあるが、散乱回数は変わらないと思っていたのですが、こちらはどういった理由で起きているのでしょうか。 

110
satoru
John.Hygelund
Fully Spectral
John.HygelundFully Spectral
asked in Got a question?
Custom coating table from blackbox coating?

Has anyone developed a script that can takes an implemented blackbox coating performance vs. angle and vs. wavelength and build a custom coating table (Help File » The Libraries Tab » Coatings Group » Defining Coatings » The TABLE Data Section) ?Thanks in advance for any pointers.

170
John.Hygelund
Fully Spectral
A
Andrey.KuznetsovInfrared
asked in Got a question?
Export Angle of Incidence for All Rays Hitting Detector in NSCE

Hello,Could someone please show how to setup in Non-Sequential Mode a Detector and export the angle of incidence for all the light rays hitting the detector?The goal for me is to import this distribution in matlab for plotting angle of incidence distribution/histogram and additional convolution with other curves to understand the properties of the light source as well as how it interacts with the detector.

714
John.Hygelund
Fully Spectral
sharika
sharikaSingle Emitter
asked in Got a question?
unable to get interference pattern with diffraction grating

Hi! I am new to Zemax Optic Studio and am struggling to set up a system with a source, diffraction grating, and detector. I have been following this video as a guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtjN7wr_Pl8&ab_channel=OzenEngineering%2CInc.  I get the same results until close to the end of the video-- they change the wavelength and suddenly the diffraction pattern appears. As far as I can tell, I am using the same values in the non sequential component editor but cannot get the same results. I must be missing something, any help would be really appreciated! I’ve got the link for the .zar file I’m working with here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11rnClZi5eTzIQc3PFDJTwQYhQvJ6gR08/view?usp=drive_link

310
sharika
Jeffrey.Strecker
Jeffrey.StreckerMonochrome
asked in STAR Module User Group
Calculated RBM's Question

Hello Community!I have an optical assembly where I’m accessing the performance utilizing two different materials, stainless steel and aluminum over a temperature range.  The calculated RBM’s that I’m getting from the STAR module are contradicting my intuition.  The FEA software I’m using is Ansys Mechanical. My intuition tells me that if you were accessing deformation due to temperature range that is centered at ambient, then the calculated RBM’s should be equal in magnitude but in opposite directions.  Assuming the temp range is symmetric about ambient.  That holds true when looking at the deformation magnitude in Ansys Mechanical but not the RBM’s as calculated by the STAR Module.  With help from this community, would anybody mind putting these two FEA text files into the STAR Module and let me know what the calculated RBM’s are?  After much investigation, the only source I can think of is an issue with the calculation of the FEA data/.txt file to RBM’s.  Verifying the calculated RBM

411
E
Zemax Staff
mocquin
mocquinInfrared
asked in Got a question?
NCE Detector account for angle of incidence

In non-sequential mode, when a ray intercepts a detector, can you confirm that the angle of incidence is not taken into account when computnig the irradiance ? For example for for 2 rays with the same power incident on the same pixel, but with different angle of incidence -one normal and one at 45°, is there a cosine weight assigned to the power of the oblique ray ?I tried to check for myself by setting up a single pixel detector with 2 source rays of 1W each. WIth normal incidence the total power is 2W, and still with one of them being incident with a 45° angle - so I’d guess angle of incidence are not taken into account, but I’d rather have confirmation from Zemax team -or even better written explicitely in t he docs (maybe I did not find it)

281
Mike.Jones
En-Lightened
Lydon Wong
Lydon WongSingle Emitter
asked in ZPL
ZPL Macro for Picking up 'Before surface tilt/decenter'

Hello Optics Team! I meet a question when writing ZPL. There is a mirror-reflected system and I would like to do the sensitivity analysis on some tolerances. When it comes to decenter, I found that it was difficult to pick up a surface’s ‘Before surface tilt/decenter’. There is a function of picking up ‘After surface tilt/decenter’ (SURP 66) but no such a function for ‘Before surface tilt/decenter’.Anyone have some experience about it? Thank you!

322
David.Nguyen
Luminary
Rahul Thakur
Rahul ThakurSingle Emitter
asked in Got a question?
Modelling laser beam with different divergence in Seq mode

How to model laser beam having divergence 3 and 5 degrees in x and y axes respectively and how to introduce power of 1mw in sequential mode. How to define power using physical Optics?

160
Rahul Thakur
Jmilberger
JmilbergerMonochrome
asked in Got a question?
REAX Operand Vs. Footprint Diagram

I have a system that I’m controlling the beam size on using the REAX and REAY.  I’ve got it optimized to a spot I’m happy with but when looking at the footprint diagram results they show a different beam size.  What is the difference between these two? REAX showing -22.5 while the footprint diagram shows 17.7  

491
Sean Turner
Ultraviolet
M
MilothInfrared
asked in Licensing and Installation
Cros Platform Zemax

Hi, I would be interesting in understanding if making OpticStudio cross platform is in the roadmap. Especially with the release of .NET 8, which would enable it. Note that I am aware that this is gated by making sure that all the dependencies and calls in the implementation are cross-platform. I think though that compatibility with other OSes is an important feature.Just to give you some context, Zemax is the only unsupported program in my Linux workstation, either natively or through Wine. I have a Win VM for it, but it’s not an ideal situation.

300
M
Bozkov
BozkovMonochrome
asked in Got a question?
Tolerancing a system with 2 OAP

Hello,After following the next article: The easiest way to tolerance an off-axis mirror I have been struggling to manage the tolerances in my system since it has 2 different OAPs and as in the example, I have set one of them as the global coordinate reference Apart from that issue, I really don't think my coordinate breaks are working properly to tolerance the OAPs (I only want to check the decentered and tilt tolerances).Lastly, I don't really know why final focus is not hitting the center of the image.Thanks

160
Bozkov
Gertzemax
GertzemaxSingle Emitter
asked in Got a question?
ray tracing and semi-diameters in two off-axisparabolas

Hello,I have made a system with two off-axis parabolas (in fact acting as a single parabola) and find that the input field semi diameter is different from the output field semi-diameter, although the spot diagram (with a paraxial lens) states that the image is perfect. Looking at the 3-D model and making an overlay of two images that are flipped alonng the z-axis, I notice that the rays on either side of the focus of the OAP do not seem to have the same angle, which indeed then would lead to a different semi-diameter. Anything to fix this? I have added a screenshot of the focal region of the off-axis parabola, with two identical images shown, but one transparant and flipped. I would have expected to have these images be symmetric to the mirroring.  

150
Gertzemax
Luca.cellerino
Luca.cellerinoVisible
asked in Got a question?
Plot spectrum from xy CIE1931

Hi everyone, I'm having difficulty understanding how I can reproduce the emission spectrum by providing only xy CIE1931.I would like to compile an Excel file or an Octave routine that simulates this calculation.Sometimes white LED suppliers do not provide SPDs but only CIE1931 coordinates.Thanks so much everyone.

241
Christophe.Weisse
dmcbee
dmcbeeSingle Emitter
asked in Got a question?
Incorporating the Stiles-Crawford Effect into a Human Eye Model in OpticStudio

Hello everyone,I am in the process of creating a human eye model in OpticStudio, and I am looking to incorporate the Stiles-Crawford effect as described by the attached equation:I = 10^(- (α/2) * r²)where:I is the beam intensity, α = 0.05, r represents the radial distance from the pupil center.To give more context, the Stiles-Crawford effect describes how light entering the eye near the center of the pupil is perceived as brighter than light entering near the edges, due to the directional sensitivity of cone photoreceptors in the retina.What would be the most straightforward method for implementing this effect into my optical model?  Thank you in advance for your help!

412
dmcbee
Jbeaker
JbeakerSingle Emitter
asked in Got a question?
Airspace Tolerance Input

Hi, I have a two element design and I am a struggling with understanding how the airgap errors are handled and input in the tolerance data editor (TDE). Below are what I see the airgap errors to be: 1. Distance tolerance between lens 1 and lens 2 barrel seatsIn TDE2. Thickness tolerance between lens 1 surface 2 vertex and the flat mounting interface (sag of R2)Set up dummy surface?3. Thickness tolerance between lens 2 surface 1 vertex and the flat mounting interface (sag of R1)Set up dummy surface?4. Center thickness of lens 2In TDE5. Center thickness of lens 1In TDEFor example, my concern is that if I input TTHI CT error for L1 of 0.050 and flat edge to vertex error of .025 Zemax will try to take the cumulative of this, .050 + .025 = .075. Below I show in 1.2 this would not occur as the CT would be out of spec. 

210
Jbeaker

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