If you're designing an optical system - be it a single light-bulb or a petawatt laser - there is a software package that can help. But how do you choose the right one for your needs? Michael Hatcher looks at six of the most popular packages used by the optics industry. 6c}h(TkB  
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As the processing power of PCs has rocketed over the past decade, so optical design software has evolved. Once a highly specialized tool that had to be operated on mainframes and UNIX workstations, now such software is accessible on the desktop of any average optical engineer. 51#_Vg  
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Whether you are designing cameras or radiotelescopes, a wide choice of packages is available to help you. We have taken a look at six of the most widely-used design programs to help you decide which is the most appropriate for your application. 5&QJ7B,!  
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Optical design software falls into two broad categories: "classical" lens-design software, and illumination packages. Lens-design software is used to optimize image-forming optical systems. First, you must provide a starting design that includes data such as the shape, size and position of lenses and other optical elements in the system, the system's aperture and field of view, and the wavelengths being used. The program then traces the paths of light-rays entering the system, optimizing the optics using a mathematical algorithm until your target criteria are met. y^;#&k!
 
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Illumination packages are used for more detailed analysis of an optical system - to predict the effect of sunlight on a telescope, for example. Output from lens-design software will often provide the input for an illumination package, enabling you to produce a more detailed analysis of system performance. Illumination packages are also used when designers want to analyse complex light distribution - for instance, that produced by car headlights. 2y//
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Lens-design packages ohRjvJ'v|  
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Three of the major packages are ZEMAX, OSLO and CODE V. OSLO and CODE V are older programs, dating back to the 1960s. ZEMAX is a much newer program - the first commercial version appeared in 1990. %P<hW+P!  
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For an independent viewpoint, Opto & Laser Europe contacted Scott Lerner, an optical engineer at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, US. Lerner uses all three lens-design packages to design a wide range of systems. T5R-B=YWu  
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Broadly speaking, says Lerner, ZEMAX is an entry-level package suited to less experienced designers, whereas CODE V is a high-end solution suited to more demanding tasks. OSLO fills the middle ground. -f3p U:G8  
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"Given a specific problem, you could use any of the three codes to generate a solution. But I guess my rule of thumb is that if it's not too complex I'll do it in ZEMAX," Lerner told Opto & Laser Europe. "ZEMAX is accepted to have the lowest learning curve, and it is also the least expensive of the packages. So typically, if you have a relatively simple system to design that doesn't require extensive analysis then ZEMAX is the program of choice - it is cheaper and your customers are more likely to have access to it." xqeyD* 凤山市| 广水市| 利辛县| 长宁区| 栖霞市| 乐平市| 阳东县| 库尔勒市| 长岛县| 松原市| 浦城县| 齐齐哈尔市| 晋宁县| 莱西市| 登封市| 洱源县| 蒲江县| 潞西市| 讷河市| 改则县| 荣成市| 浮梁县| 措勤县| 昭苏县| 长宁区| 呼图壁县| 迁西县| 吴桥县| 都安| 福海县| 上虞市| 金川县| 金乡县| 梓潼县| 集贤县| 承德县| 仁怀市| 宁武县| 高雄县| 安陆市| 玉树县|