Optical Systems Design

with Zemax
OpticStudio
Lecture 1
Why Optical Systems Design
Optical system design is no longer a skill
reserved for a few professionals. With
readily available commercial optical design
software, these tools are accessible to the
general optical engineering community and
rudimentary skills in optical design are now
expected by a wide range of industries who
utilize optics in their products.

Optical Systems Design 2

 Course Aims
To introduce the design principles of
lens and mirror optical systems and the
evaluation of designs using modern
computer techniques. The lectures will
cover lens design, aberrations,
optimization, tolerancing and image
quality metrics.

Optical Systems Design 3

 ZEMAX Optics Studio
The ZEMAX optical design program is a
comprehensive software tool. It integrates all
the features required to conceptualize,
design, optimize, analyze, tolerance, and
document virtually any optical system. It is
widely used in the optics industry as a
standard design tool. This course will
introduce the basics of ZEMAX using the
recently released (2014) OpticStudio
interface.

Optical Systems Design 4

 Other Optical Design Software

• Code-V (Optical Research Associates)

• OSLO (Sinclair Optics)
• OpTaliX (Optenso Ltd)

• ASAP (Breault Research)

• TracePro (Lambda Research)
• FRED (Photon Engineering)

Optical Systems Design 5

 Local Experts
• Stephen Rolt
• Jurgen Schmoll
• Ariadna Calcines
• Colin Dunlop
• Tim Morris
• Undoubtedly others …

Optical Systems Design 6

 Course Outline

• Lecture 1: Introduction
• Lecture 2: Sequential Systems
• Lecture 3: Optimization
• Lecture 4: Tolerancing
• Lecture 5: Non-sequential & other stuff

Web page: http://astro.dur.ac.uk/~rsharp/opticaldesign.html

Optical Systems Design 7

 Objectives: Lecture 1
At the end of this lecture you should:
1. Be able to install a version of the Zemax optical
design programme on a Windows PC
2. Understand the main tasks involved in optical
systems design with Zemax
3. Be aware of Zemax notation for the 5 main Seidel
aberrations
4. Know the relevance of the terms: optical axis,
stop, pupil, chief ray, marginal ray, point spread
function for Zemax
5. Use the Zemax lens data editor to enter the
specifications of a simple lens

Optical Systems Design 8

 Getting started
• Download a current copy of OpticStudio from:
http://www.zemax.com/support/downloads/
• CfAI/Atmol members can use the shared license
server on zemax.cfai.local. This requires a copy of the
file sntlconfig.xml from the server Exchange/installers/
Zemax to be copied into the main OpticsStudio
directory (C:\Program Files\Zemax OpticStudio)
• Five licences are available. See who is using them at:
http://zemax.cfai.local:7002
• Log out from Zemax if not actively using!
• Non-CfAI/Atmol members should download the
OpticStudio demo

Optical Systems Design 9

 Recommended Texts
• OpticStudio User Manual and Getting Started Using
OpticStudio (access from programme help)
• Introduction to Lens Design with Practical Zemax
Examples, Joseph M Geary (Willmann-Bell Inc.)
• Optical Systems Design, Robert Fischer & Bijana
Tadic(SPIE Press)
• Practical Computer-Aided Design, Gregory Hallock-
Smith (Willmann-Bell Inc.)
• Astronomical Optics, Dan Schroeder (Academic Press;
GoogleBooks)
• Optics, Jeff Hecht (Addison Wesley)
Also the Zemax knowledge base:
http://www.zemax.com/support/knowledgebase
Optical Systems Design 10
 Optical Systems Design
‘Science or art of developing optical systems to
image, direct, analyse or measure light.’
• Includes camera lenses, telescopes, microscopes,
scanners, photometers, spectrographs,
interferometers, …
• Systems should be as free from geometrical optical
errors (aberrations) as possible.
• Correcting and controlling aberrations is one of the
main tasks of the optical designer (includes
performance evaluation and fabrication/tolerancing
issues).

Optical Systems Design 11

 Historical Note
• Lens design has changed significantly since
~1960 with the introduction of digital computers
and numerical optimisation.
• Equations describing aberrations of lens/mirror
systems are very non-linear functions of system
parameters (curvatures, spacings, refractive
indices, dispersions, …)
• Only a few specialised systems can be derived
analytically in exact closed-form solutions.
• Analytical design methods (Petzval, Seidel) were
historically based on a mathematical treatment
of geometrical imagery and primary aberrations
– still useful for initial designs.
• Numerical evaluation methods ray trace many
light rays from object to image space.
Optical Systems Design 12
Seidel (3rd order) Aberrations
1. Spherical aberration
2. Coma
3. Astigmatism
4. Field curvature
5. Distortion

6. Longitudinal chromatic aberration

7. Lateral chromatic aberration

Optical Systems Design 13

 Numerical Evaluation Methods
• Assume only trigonometry, law of reflection and
Snell’s law
• n1 sin θ1 = n 2 sin θ 2
• For each ray calculate new ray parameters at each
surface
• Sequential ray-tracing assumes that light travels
€ from surface to surface in a defined order.
• Non-sequential ray-tracing does not assume a pre-
defined path for the rays, but when a ray hits a
surface in its path, it may then reflect, refract,
diffract, scatter or split into child rays (scattered
light).

Optical Systems Design 14

 Numerical Optimisation
Methods
• Given a starting configuration, the computer
can be used to optimise a design by an
iterative process.
• Final image quality is ‘best’ that can be
achieved under constraints of basic
configuration, required focal length, f/
number, field of view, wavelength etc.
• Programs are still ‘dumb’. Designer must
supply intelligence through selection of
starting configuration, control of
optimization parameters, understanding of
underlying optical theory, etc.

Optical Systems Design 15

 Objects, Light Rays & Wavefronts
• Objects composed of self-luminous (radiant) points of
light
• Trajectories of photons from each of these points
define the light rays
• Neglecting diffraction, these physical rays become
geometrical rays (ray bundles)
• Wavefronts are surfaces normal to rays
• Light travel times along all rays to the wavefront from
an object point are the same (for a fixed wavelength)
• Neglecting diffraction, physical wavefronts become
geometrical wavefronts (good approximation except
near boundaries or edges)
Optical Systems Design 16
Objects, Light Rays & Wavefronts

Optical axis Wavefronts

Object Image
Plane Plane

Ray bundles

Optical Systems Design 17

 The Optical Axis
• Most optical systems are collections of rotationally
symmetric surfaces whose centres of curvature are
all located along a common axis (Optical Axis)
• Plane surfaces have infinite radius of curvature
• Intersection of the optical axis and a surface is at
the surface vertex
• Longitudinal cross-section defines a meridional
plane (all equivalent)
• Ray in this plane are meridional rays. Rays out of
plane are skew rays.

Optical Systems Design 18

 Stops & Pupils
• Every optical system contains one physical aperture that
limits the extent of the wavefront for the ray bundle which is
transmitted through the system to the on-axis image point
(aperture stop or stop)
• If optics are large enough then this will also be true for off-axis
image points
• In many cases this is not true leading to mechanical
vignetting of off-axis image points
• Size and location of the aperture stop can have important
impact on system performance through its effects on
geometrical aberrations
• Image of the stop in object space is the entrance pupil.
Image of the stop in image space is the exit pupil.
• Focal ratio (e.g. f/5.6) is ratio of effective focal length (EFL) to
entrance pupil diameter (EPD)
Optical Systems Design 19
Stops & Pupils

Optical Design (S13) Joseph A. Shaw – Montana State University

Demonstration of Pupils with a Camera Lens

View a camera lens from the front and from the back to see the
entrance and exit pupils. You are seeing the same iris from both
sides, but it appears to be of different diameter because of the
intervening optics.

Entrance pupil Exit pupil

Optical Systems Design 4 20

 Marginal & Chief Rays
• Marginal ray originates at the object point on axis
and goes to the edge of the stop of the system.
• Chief ray (principal ray) originates at the object
point at the edge of the field of view and passes
through the centre of the stop of the system.

Axial height (transverse distance away from the

optical axis) of the marginal ray is zero at the object
and all images of the object. At these locations the
axial height of the chief ray determines the size
(semi-diameter) of the object and its images
(magnification). These roles are reversed when
considering the aperture stop and its images (pupils).

Optical Systems Design 21

Marginal & Chief Rays

Optical Systems Design 22

 Point Spread Function (PSF)
• Impossible to image a point object as
a perfect point image.
• PSF gives the physically correct light
distribution in the image plane
including the effects of aberrations
and diffraction.
• Errors are introduced by design
(geometrical aberrations), optical and
mechanical fabrication & alignment.

Optical Systems Design 23

 Co-ordinate Systems and Sign
Conventions
• No standardization between different
codes!
• Zemax uses a right-handed cartesian
co-ordinate system, where the Z-axis is
the optical axis and light initially moves
in the direction of +Z.
• Co-ordinate breaks (rotations) are
defined in a right-handed sense.

Optical Systems Design 24

 Optical Prescriptions
• An optical design is described by a set of
surfaces through which the light passes
sequentially.
• Surfaces are tabulated in the lens data
editor and are numbered sequentially from
the object surface (surface 0) and ending
with the image surface.
• A minimum of 3 surfaces is required (object,
stop, image).

Optical Systems Design 25

 Surface Parameters
• Surface number
• Radius of curvature (R)
• Thickness to the next surface (t)
• Glass type in the next medium (or Air if blank)
• Aspheric data (if any)
• Aperture size (semi-diameter D)
• Tilt and decenter data (if any)

One surface is designated the stop surface.

Optical Systems Design 26

 Using the Lens Data Editor
Setup tab -> System Explorer:
• Aperture: define entrance pupil diameter (50mm)
• Fields: define field angle(s) (FoV) (0 deg)
• Wavelengths: define wavelength(s) of rays (632.8nm)

Singlet lens prescription:

R1  =  100  mm,  t1  =  10  mm,  Glass  =  BK7,  Semi-­‐D1  =  25  mm  
R2  =  -­‐100  mm,  t2  =  Op9mize-­‐>Quick-­‐focus,  Air,  Semi-­‐D2  =  25  mm  
The  aperture  stop  (entrance  pupil)  is  placed  at  the    
first  lens  surface  (Diam  =  50  mm).  
 
May  also  some*mes  use  dummy  surfaces  to  help  with  plots.  

Optical Systems Design 27

ZEMAX Lens Data Editor

Optical Systems Design 28

ZEMAX System Viewers

Optical Systems Design 29

 System Properties
• Analyze  -­‐>  Reports:  

Optical Systems Design 30

 Summary: Lecture 1
• Optical design has changed radically since
the introduction of modern ray-tracing
software packages
• ZEMAX is a comprehensive software tool
which integrates all the features required to
design an optical system
• The optical design process involves
developing a conceptual optial design, ray-
tracing an optical layout and varying
parameters of the specification to improve
performance

Optical Systems Design 31

 Exercises: Lecture 1
• Install Zemax Optic Studio(or the
OpticStudio demo) on your PC
• Use the lens data editor to input the
optical prescription of the biconvex
singlet from the lecture
• Investigate how the focus depends
on wavelength and lens curvatures
• Investigate how the image quality
depends on the thickness of the lens

Optical Systems Design 32