Optical Solutions Enewsletter

SmartStart Library Notice

LightTools 2022.03 will include a new, separately licensed SmartStart Library module. The SmartStart Library is a library of optical properties and materials for commercially available diffusers, reflectors, mold textures, plastics, and glasses. The SmartStart Library replaces and improves upon many of the measured BSDF optical properties and materials that were part of the LightTools library in past releases. Starting with LightTools 2022.03, these library items will no longer be installed with the software, and will only be available to SmartStart Library module licensees for download as part of the SmartStart Library from the OSG Customer Support Portal. LightTools customers with existing LightTools installations will continue to be able to use OPR and MAT files that have been installed as part of previous releases.

The SmartStart Library represents Synopsys’ ongoing efforts to provide you with timely and relevant optical measurements for the materials and surface treatments that you use most. Since we introduced the SmartStart Library into LucidShape a little over a year ago, we have added or updated well over 100 entries in the library and greatly improved the accuracy of simulated results when using mold textures on refractive surfaces. As of today, the SmartStart Library contains the BSDF data of over 450 surface treatments from 30 different vendors and over 200 diffuse or non-diffuse plastics and glasses from 11 different vendors.

Please contact us at optics@synopsys.com if you would like more information about licensing the LightTools SmartStart Library module and pricing. For the technical details about using the new library files and how to continue working with the previous library datasets, please contact support at lighttools_support@synopsys.com.

New SolvNetPlus Knowledge Base Articles Available for LightTools

The SolvNetPlus Knowledge Base features a collection of searchable articles covering many topics of Synopsys tools. Recently, we began adding articles for LightTools, with many more on the way for other Optical Solutions software. Here are a few highlights of articles that are now available:

• LightTools: Where can I find the macro syntax for various commands?
• How do I set up a luminance camera for a backward trace?
• What kind of hardware is recommended for LightTools?
• How do I change LightTools’ language?

A SolvNetPlus account is required to access these articles. To view the entire list of available articles, log in to SolvNetPlus and click on “Articles” in the top menu.

CODE V & LightTools Short Host ID Retirement

All short host IDs for CODE V and LightTools (e.g., 80-12345) will be retired in 2022. They will be replaced with long host IDs (e.g., 80-*1234567890ABCDE) associated with your existing dongles. For licenses locked to short host IDs:

• If you renew your software licenses prior to February 2022, you will receive a new dongle.
• If you renew after February 2022, you will be asked to provide the long host ID for your existing dongle, which we will use to generate a new license file for you.

You will be contacted by your local sales and support staff regarding the timing of your conversion. This will be necessary for you to use versions of CODE V and LightTools released in 2022.

Thank you for your understanding as we make this change.

Upcoming Events