The file slicer.dll is included in the zip archive that may be downloaded from the last page of this article.

All the properties of a UD-Surface are defined in a separate C or C++ program, compiled and linked into Zemax using a Windows® DLL file (Dynamic Link Library). The DLL file contains functions which compute and return to Zemax all the data required to draw the surface, trace rays, compute refraction angles, etc.

The slicer.dll file allows to model a slicer mirror array where each individual mirror has a rectangular clear aperture and could be spherical or flat in shape. One may specify the number of slices and their dimensions as well as curvatures and tilts for each slice. Their X- and Y-positions (Fig.2) are directly controlled by the slicer.dll while their Z-position along the current optical axis may be specified for each slice individually. Surface sag and rays propagation are computed, and basically a close loop with Zemax is established in order to determine which segment of the slicer mirror array is struck by rays on the one hand, and on the other, to use the local curvature and tilts to compute the properties of each reflected ray.

Figure 2 - Slicer mirror array optical specifications and notations.

In such a way, a slicer mirror array is correctly described by two sets of data parameters specified in the Lens Data Editor (LDE) or in the Extra-Data Editor (EDE) as described next.