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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.