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LightTools Enewsletter
May 2020
In This Issue:
Analyzing Power, Illuminance, and Intensity Using LightTools Ray Paths
The LightTools Ray Paths feature is a powerful analysis tool that helps you analyze stray light and perform other diagnostics to learn how rays propagate in your system.
In the following illuminance chart, there are two clear peaks and only one of them is desired. The chart is the illuminance at the focus of a Cooke triplet and considers Fresnel reflections from each lens surface. Our goal is to understand if there are any concerns from these ghost reflections, and the second spot on the illuminance chart indicates there is indeed cause for concern!
The Ray Paths tool can help us to understand how the rays go from the source to the other parts of the receiver. Note, Ray Paths are not collected by default, so you’ll need to enable the collection. You can do this by selecting the menu Analysis > Ray Paths > Controls or Ray Trace > Simulation Input > Ray Paths prior to your next simulation.
The Ray Paths window has a table of all the ray paths collected during the last simulation. You can see the power in each path, number of rays, and source origin. Clicking the Compute Filtered Mesh Data button will calculate various illuminance and intensity statistics for each path. The Path Details tab has a table of every surface/zone interaction seen by each ray path.
In the case of our Cooke triplet, the path with the highest power and illuminance is the direct path:
To determine the path that causes the second highest illuminance, we can sort the “Max Illuminance” and enable only the second path in that list.
In this case, we have learned that the second peak arises due to the ghost reflection off the back surface of the rear element, then again off the front surface of the front element.
Interested in learning more about ray paths? Check out the recent “Extracting More Information from Your Simulation Using Ray Paths in LightTools” webinar recording from the OSG Tech Talks collection for more!
New White Paper: Accelerating Your LightTools Design Projects when Specialized Optical Properties Are Needed
Need help modeling a unique optical property? Our expert engineers can develop a User-Defined Optical Property (UDOP) for you.
To learn more, read our latest white paper on "Accelerating Your LightTools Design Projects when Specialized Optical Properties Are Needed."
OSG Online Tech Talks
With many of us working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have had to forgo travel, trips, attending trade shows, and in-person training. Connecting with people has been challenging, and we have been relying on technology and the internet to get in touch with colleagues. So, as you settle in at your home office, we have made a way for you to connect with us and make the most of your time working from home. We're bringing the training to you!
The Synopsys Optical Solutions Group is proud to announce our second round of online tech talks. We’ve pulled together a great lineup featuring product training.
Upcoming sessions include:
"Hello LightTools Optimizer!"
Introduction to LightTools Optimization with Database Merit Functions
Date: Thursday, May 21
10:00-11:00 am Pacific
Accessing the Data You Need via Macros in Light Tools
Date: Thursday, May 28
10:00-11:00 am Pacific
Optimization with Simulation-Based Merit Functions in LightTools
Date: Thursday, June 4
10:00-11:00 am Pacific
Data Processing and Manipulation Using Macros in LightTools
Date: Thursday, June 11
10:00-11:00 am Pacific
Better Together: Using Optimization with Parameter Analyzer or Freeform Designer in LightTools
Date: Thursday, June 18
10:00-11:00 am Pacific
Extending the Features of the Parameter Analyzer Using Macros in LightTools
Date: Thursday, June 25
10:00-11:00 am Pacific
Online Tech Talks Available on Demand
Previously recorded tech talks are available to watch on our Customer Support Portal, on demand!
Account registration is required to access the Customer Support Portal. If you don't have an account yet, consider creating one today!
New Blog: LightTools Stray Light Analysis Saves Designers Time and Money
LightTools version 9.0, now available, introduces valuable new tools to help optical engineers and stray light analysts pinpoint and correct stray light issues early in the product design process, saving time and money.
