MICRO-517

■ STI
MICRO-517 Optical Design
with ZEMAX
OpticStudio
Lecture 1
26.09.2022
Ye Pu
Sciences et techniques de l’ingénieur
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
CH-1015 Lausanne
 MICRO-517 Course Overview
 Time: Mondays 13h15 – 16h00
 Location: ME D2 1522
■ STI
MICRO-517  Hybrid contents:
 Theory of optical design
 Design practice in ZEMAX OpticStudio
 Understanding ZEMAX opportunity and pitfall
 Final design project
 Contents may be adapted to the progress
 Laptop and software installation required
 Homework and reports submitted through Google drive
 Questions and suggestions welcome

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 Preliminary Schedule
Lecture Week Content
1 2 Introduction to theory of optical design
2 3 Modeling of optical systems properties
■ STI
MICRO-517 3 4 Modeling of optical systems properties
4 5 Image formation and aberrations analysis
5 6 Image formation and aberrations analysis
6 7 Optimization of optical design
7 8 Imaging and transformation
8 9 Non-imaging design, illumination
9 10 Advanced topics
10 11 Design project
11 12 Design project
12 13 Design project
13 14 Design project
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 Reference Books on Optical Design

■ STI
MICRO-517

J M Geary, Introduction to Lens D Malacara-Hernández and Z C Velzel, A Course in Lens Design C Gerhard, Lens Design Basics:
Design with Practical ZEMAX Malacara-Hernández, (Springer, 2014) Optical Design Problem-Solving in
Examples (Willmann-Bell, 2002) Handbook of Optical Design, Theory and Practice (IOP
3rd Ed (CRC Press, 2013) Publishing, 2021)
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 What is Imaging?

■ STI
MICRO-517

Imaging
Process

One-to-one mapping of light rays

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 The “Camera Obscura”

■ STI
MICRO-517

Pinhole as the simplest imaging device

Light rays go straight → one-to-one mapping
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 The Science of Light
GEOMETRICAL (RAY) OPTICS (macroscopic-scale phenomena)
 light travels in straight lines (rays)
■ STI  wavelength λ → 0, frequency ν → ∞
MICRO-517  explains reflection and refraction
 useful for designing optical systems
WAVE OPTICS (microscopic-scale phenomena)
 light (electromagnetic radiation) is a wave
 action of light described by Maxwell's equations
 explains reflection, refraction, dispersion, interference,
polarization, diffraction
QUANTUM OPTICS (atomic-scale phenomena)
 light is photon particles
 has both wave-like and particle-like characteristics
 used to analyze light-matter interactions
 explains photoelectric effect, lasers

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 Light as Both Rays and a Wave
Wave front: a surface over which an optical disturbance has a constant phase
Rays: lines normal to the wave front at every point of intersection
■ STI A
MICRO-517 ψ ( x, t ) = A sin ( kx − ωt ) ψ ( x, t ) = sin ( kr − ωt )
r
Phase

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 Light at an Interface: Reflection and Refraction
The Fermat Principle
The path taken by a ray between two given
■ STI
MICRO-517 points is the path that can be traversed in the
shortest optical path (OPL).

OPL n1 SO + n2 OP
=

= n1 h 2 + x 2 + n2 b 2 + ( a − x )
2

d
OPL = 0
dx

n1 sin α = n2 sin β Snell’s Law

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 Light at an Interface: Reflection and Refraction
Huygens Principle
Every point on a wave front is a source
■ STI
MICRO-517 of secondary spherical wavelets, and the
secondary wavelets superimpose to
form the next wave front.
v1 c v2 c
λ=
1 = λ=
2 =
f n1 f f n2 f
λ1 λ2
=
sin α sin β

n1 sin α = n2 sin β Snell’s Law

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 Light Passing a Spherical Surface: Paraxial
Snell’s law n1 sin θ1 = n2 sin θ 2
For small θ
■ STI sin θ ≈ θ
MICRO-517

n1 ( so + R ) sin α n2 ( si − R ) sin α
=
po pi

n1 n2 n2 − n1 Lens
+ = Maker’s
S o Si R Formula
Under paraxial approximation, the
emerging rays intersect at the same
point P, forming a perfect image
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 Light Passing a Spherical Surface: Actual

Paraxial approximation
■ STI
MICRO-517 becomes increasingly
unsatisfactory when
larger angled peripheral
rays are considered
θ3 θ5 θ7
sin θ =θ − + −
3! 5! 7!

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 Spherical Lenses

■ STI
MICRO-517

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 Typical Imaging System: the Human Eye
 Plato: light emanated from the
eye (4th century B. C.)
■ STI  Aristotle: the eye receives rays
MICRO-517 rather than directed them
outward
 Galen: the crystalline lens is the
principal organ of vision (2nd
century A.D.)
 Kepler: first theory of the retinal
image (1604)

 High aberration system

 Structural basis for all imaging
instruments
Decartes Dioptrics
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 Typical Imaging System: Photographic Camera
 Pinhole camera (camera
obscura): 400 B.C.
■ STI  First photographic camera
MICRO-517 (hand flex reflex camera): 1816
 Daguerreotypes: 1829
 Instantaneous exposures: 1871
 Twin-lens reflex camera: 1885
 Single-lens reflex camera: 1936
 Digital SLR: 1999

 All cameras are structurally and

conceptually very closely
mimics of the eye
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 Typical Imaging System: Astronomical Telescope
HST Light Path

■ STI
MICRO-517

JWST Light Path

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 Typical Imaging System: Microscope
ZEISS Epi-Fluorescence Microscope Olympus Oil-immersion
Microscope Objective

■ STI
MICRO-517

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 Manufacturing of Lenses

Blank Grinding Polishing Testing Coating Mounting Product

■ STI
MICRO-517

How grinding/polishing works Models of Da Vinci’s design of mirror grinder and polisher

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 Manufacturing of Lenses
Grinding/polishing New techniques
Press molding

■ STI
MICRO-517

Computer-controlled polisher Polishing Hubble primary mirror

Single-point
Polishing machine in action Polishing James Webb primary mirror diamond turning
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 Testing of Optical Surfaces

■ STI
MICRO-517

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 Manufacturing Flaw in Hubble Primary Mirror

■ STI
MICRO-517

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■ STI
MICRO-517

ZEMAX
OpticStudio

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 Why Computer-aided Optical Design
“Time is money!”

■ STI Plan Design Build Test Produce

MICRO-517
Sample manual ray tracing calculation sheet
 Design by simulation
 Fast calculations over a large
number of rays and surfaces
 Opportunity of efficient
design optimization
 Removal of human mistakes
and errors
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 What ZEMAX OpticStudio Can Do?
 Design by simulation
 Imaging and afocal design Alternatives to ZEMAX
■ STI
MICRO-517  Lighting and illumination design  Professional software:
 Lasers and fibers Code V, OSLO, COMSOL, Win Lens
 Analysis in ray and wave optics  Academia:
 Stray light analysis MATLAB, PYTHON, C/C++

 Programming interface
 Design optimization
 CAD integrations
 Tolerancing and manufacturing tools
 Phosphor & fluorescence modeling
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 What ZEMAX OpticStudio Cannot Do?

WARNING: Running ZEMAX does not make You an Optics Expert

■ STI
MICRO-517  Optical design is not just about knowing how to run ZEMAX
 It is a tool used in designing and analyzing optical systems
 You must know optics before you can effectively use ZEMAX
 There are many pitfalls with optical design programs
 You don’t know what to watch for
 One should take the classes, learn form the experts while slowly
coming up to speed
–– Paul Manhart, NASA Langley

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 Practical Information
 An “up to date” laptop with Intel Link to ZEMAX Global Academic Program
CPU and Windows 10/11 is
■ STI recommended https://www.zemax.com/pages/get-the-skills-you-
MICRO-517 need-for-a-future-in-optics
 Apple Macbooks with Intel CPU
can run ZEMAX OpticStudio in
Windows OS or in a virtual
environment
 Apple Macbooks with M1/M2
CPU are not compatible with
ZEMAX OpticStudio
 Individual installation of ZEMAX
OpticStudio with proper license

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 Some Basics of ZEMAX OpticStudio
Coordinate system Representation of optical surfaces
2D sections: y-z

■ STI
MICRO-517

Sign of lengths, radii, angles

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 ZEMAX OpticStudio User Interface
Window types:
 Lens Data Editors for data input (lens data, extra data,
multiconfiguration, tolerances)
■ STI  Output windows for graphical representation of results
MICRO-517
 Text windows for output in ASCII numerical numbers (can
be exported)
 Dialog boxes for data input, error reports
File formats:
 Data files: .zmx (depricated), .zno
 Configuration files: .cfg, e.g. zemax.cfg, ray.cfg, pop.cfg
 Session files: .zda or .ses for session settings (deprecated)
 Archive files: .zar, all lens design files in a single file
 Catalog files: .agf, .bgf (glasses catalog), .zmf (lens catalog)
 Macros, images, POP data, refractive index files, ...

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 ZEMAX OpticStudio User Interface
Menu Changes according to
Ribbon the selected menu tab

■ STI
MICRO-517
Lens Data Table
Parameters for all lens
surfaces: curvature
radius, thickness,
material, coating, and
more 3D Ray-tracing Result
System
Explorer
Design-wise
parameters and
simulation setups,
which should be
set at the
beginning of a
project and
usually do not
change over the
course of the
design Aberration Curves Distortion distribution Imaging Simulation
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 Basic Modes: Sequential vs Nonsequential
Sequential Mode: Sequential Mode:
 Rays pass each surface once  Rays pass some surfaces multiple times
■ STI  Computation proceeds in the order  Computation does not proceed in the
MICRO-517
of surfaces order of surfaces
 Most useful for imaging systems  Most useful for illumination systems or
systems involving prisms

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 System Model
Single step:
 Surface and transition
■ STI  Parameters: radius, diameter, thickness,
MICRO-517
refractive index, aspherical constants, conic
parameter, decenter, tilt, ...
Complete system:
 Sequence of surfaces
 Object has index 0
 Image has index N
 tN does not exist
 Ray paths follow
0-1-2-...-(N-1)-N
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 Homework
1. Register for ZEMAX Academic Program, download, and install
ZEMAX OpticStudio 22.2
■ STI
MICRO-517
2. Aberration in a flat plate: 3. Aberration in a sphere:
manually calculate two rays as manually calculate two rays as
below and compare their below and compare their
intersection on z-axis intersection on z-axis

n = 1.5
n = 1.5

30° 30°
1° 1°
z z
2 cm n = 1.0 10 cm
n = 1.0 n = 1.0
L = 1 cm R = 5 cm

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