Open the file "Samples > Non-sequential > Prisms > Half penta prisms and amici roof.zmx". This is another demonstration of mixed sequential/non-sequential ray tracing. Rays are traced from a sequential object surface at infinity, through the stop at surface 1, then through the non-sequential prism system, and then to the sequential image surface.

The Shaded Model layout shows a roof on the center prism with the roof facing out of the screen. The roof is constructed with two surfaces at 90 degrees to each other, and appear pitched like a roof. Roofs act like a flat mirrors except they add path length and flip the image about the axis of the roof by reflecting rays that hit on each side to the other. Zoom in on the Shaded Model layout to get a better look at the three prisms and then use the "Page Down" key on the keyboard to rotate the view in the plot.



TIP:  The semi-transparent appearance of the prisms above was generated using the Shaded Model "opacity" capability. Users of the full, licensed version of ZEMAX can change these settings as needed. For more information, see the opacity section of the Knowledge Base article, "How Do I Create Presentation Quality Graphics and Animations?"

The Polarization Pupil Map shows the effects of the roof on the polarization state of the sequentially traced rays.

Many different prisms are included with ZEMAX. Prisms can be defined in a text file format which gives the x,y,z coordinates of the corners of each facet. These files are called Polygon Objects. Prisms and faceted objects can also be imported as STL files, a file format exported by many CAD programs. Note that the POB and STL objects in ZEMAX are real faceted objects.