ZEMAX Users' Knowledge Base - Articles - Analysis Features

How to Include Detector Resolution in MTF Calculations

no@spam.com (Mark Nicholson) — Fri, 02 May 2008 11:00:00 PDT

MTF is a commonly used to describe the performance of an imaging system, but the finite resolution of the detection system is often ignored. This article describes how to account for detector pixel sizes and position shifts to give a full-system MTF measurement.

Performing Partially Coherent Diffraction Image Analysis

no@spam.com (Andrew Locke) — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 00:00:00 PDT

This article explains:

What Partially Coherent Diffraction Image Analysis is
What different types of partial coherence Gamma functions are available
The two different computations methods that can be used for partial coherence
What sampling issues to watch out for when performing partially coherent analysis

How to Reverse an Optical System

no@spam.com (Andrew Locke) — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 01:00:00 PDT

This article explains how to use the Reverse Elements tool to reverse an entire sequential optical system.

How to Use the Center of Curvature Report to Aid System Alignment

no@spam.com (Bob Parks) — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 00:00:00 PDT

Centered optical systems are relatively easy to design and align, but when decentered and tilted surfaces are used , alignment becomes difficult unless you have a plan. This article describes how to use the Center of Curvature report to give the necessary datums for system alignment.

How to Produce Photo-Realistic Output Images

no@spam.com (Mark Nicholson) — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 00:00:00 PDT

This article describes how to take high-resolution .BMP or .JPG images and ray-trace them through a sequential optical system. The resulting high resolution, photo-realistic images provide compelling evidence of final system performance, and can help to communicate that performance to non-optics specialists.

How to Use the Quick Adjust Tool and Slider

no@spam.com (Mark Nicholson) — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 00:00:00 PDT

The Quick Adjust tool is invaluable during early system setup, letting you easily adjust important surface data to achieve a variety of conditions. This article describes how to use it, and its related feature, the Slider.

How To Draw Specific Rays in ZEMAX Layouts

no@spam.com (Dan Hill) — Tue, 20 Sep 2005 00:00:00 PDT

This article explains:

How to draw desired rays in the ZEMAX Layouts via the RAYLIST
What the RAYLIST is
The difference between IMPLICIT and EXPLICIT methods for defining rays in the RAYLIST
How to use each format with visual aids

This article is also available in Japanese.