ZEMAX Users' Knowledge Base - Articles -

Why is it called ZEMAX?

no@spam.com (Ken Moore) — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 00:00:00 PDT

Question: Where does the name ZEMAX come from?

Why is Polychromatic Wavefront Error Greater than Monochromatic?

no@spam.com (Ken Moore) — Wed, 19 Apr 2006 00:00:00 PDT

Question: I've noticed when looking at the RMS wavefront error vs field plot, that it is possible for the polychromatic wavefront error to be larger than all of its constituent wavelengths. Why is this?

What is a ray?

no@spam.com (Ken Moore) — Mon, 25 Jul 2005 00:00:00 PDT

This article explains:

What a ray is
Rays and wavefronts
Coordinates, cosines, and propagation
Refraction, reflection, and diffraction
Amplitude. phase and optical path

This article is also available in Japanese.

What is a Point Spread Function?

no@spam.com (Ken Moore) — Fri, 22 Jul 2005 00:00:00 PDT

This article explains:

What is a Point Spread Function?
The spot diagram
The FFT PSF
The Huygens PSF
How to observe the Huygens integration using a Non-Sequential lens and detector
How to choose between using the Huygens and FFT based PSF for a sequential lens

The article is accompanied by a ZIP archive containing the sample ZEMAX files used. This can be downloaded from the final page of the article.

This article is also available in Japanese.