Once the system settings have been defined, information specific to each surface can be entered into the Lens Data Editor.  To reiterate, each row in the LDE represents a single surface.  Therefore, two surfaces separated by glass comprise a single element.  So, for the purposes of the singlet, a total of 4 surfaces are needed:

    1.  The object surface (OBJ): the location where rays are launched
    2.  The front surface of the lens: where the rays enter the lens.  For this design, this will also be the lcation of the stop (STO).
    3.  The back surface of the lens: where the rays exit the lens back into air
    4.  The image surface (IMA): the location where the ray trace stops.  No surfaces can be located after the image surface in the LDE.  Note that this surface does not necessarily have to be at an acutal image location.

By default, only three surfaces are included in the LDE.  Surfaces may be added to the LDE using the “Insert” key on the keyboard, or by selecting Edit > Insert Surface on the menu bar of the LDE.  When using this method, a surface will be added prior to the row in which the highlighted cursor is currently located.  To add another surface after the current surface, “Ctrl + Insert” or Edit > Insert After may be used.

Since the stop will be located at the front surface of the singlet lens, insert another surface (representing the back face of the lens) by placing the highlighted cursor in the row of the IMA surface, and pressing the “Insert” key:

Inserting a Surface in ZEMAX

The Comment column in the LDE can be very helpful in keeping track of what each surface represents.  To enter a comment for a surface, highlight the appropriate cell, and type in the desired text.  Once finished, hit the “Enter” key or move the cursor to another cell by using the arrow keys.

Entering comments as you move along is a very good habit to get into.  For the singlet, identify each surface by typing the following text into each appropriate cell in the LDE.

Entering Comments