OpticStudio 15.5 adds speed, capability, convenience, and flexibility to the most widely used optical and illumination design software in the industry
Check out the videos below for a quick tour of the new key features in OpticStudio 15.5.
a new merit function wizard in OpticStudio 15.5 enables separate, user defined glass and air boundary constraints for each surface of an imaging or afocal system. Splitting the constraints into separate targets delivers speed improvements up to 18x faster with better results.
An optional USB dongle-free soft license for multi-user network systems is now available. Network system users have can easily check-out a license and use it disconnected from their organization’s network and from the internet to work remotely. A new administrator control panel provides easy management and usage control for IT administrators, while the in-program license manager allows users convenient check-out/check-in capability.
Accurately model pixelated phase masks for advanced holographic and diffractive components. Sharp phase changes associated with holographic and diffractive optical system designs were traditionally "smoothed" through interpolation. Now in OpticStudio 15.5 the interpolation can be turned off to capture the actual nature of phase changes for far more accurate modeling. A comparison of the three interpolation options (bicubic spline, linear, none) is shown here.
Additionally in OpticStudio 15.5 any monochrome BMP or PNG can be used directly as a phase profile with the Grid Phase surface, making it easier than ever to incorporate high-resolution holograms and phase masks into your systems.
usability improvements in OpticStudio 15.5 enable you to see multiple aspects of your designs, easier, faster and with greater detail. Improvements include:
OpticStudio 15.5 includes a number of quick, easy-to-use tools that enable you work faster and with more control, including
A new set of COM/.NET functions that expose analyses, tools, and editors to external programs. Most actions that can be performed manually inside the program can be called through the API, giving users the power to expand the program’s capabilities. The new API supersedes the antiquated DDE capability providing an extensive degree of control and is available in the Premium and Professional Editions. OpticStudio 15 can mimic a built in analysis by using the special API functions to generate plots, text, and dialogs that look native. Additionally OpticStudio 15 can serve as an optimization operand whose sole purpose is to calculate and return a value for optimization.
ISO 10110 XML Output and Prototype Estimator : Export standard ISO 10110 drawing data of optical designs in XML format for manufacturing. The new XML format enables designers and manufacturers to develop automated processes for prototyping and fabricating lenses, potentially reading the data directly into a CNC or diamond turning machine.
The Lens Cost Estimator : A new tool in OpticStudio 15 Professional and Premium Editions uses the new XML export format to send lens prescriptions to a manufacturer and receive real-time prototype cost estimates. Optimax is the first manufacturer supported, and the Lens Cost Estimator will retrieve an estimate from the Optimax Estimate web application. The new Lens Cost Estimator combined with sensitivity optimization and tolerancing are powerful tools that assist the designer in achieving cost-effective solutions.
Photoluminescent Materials : Are phosphors used in LEDs and fluorescent dyes used in biomedical imaging. Accurate modeling of photoluminescence requires not only spectral properties, but particle properties to account for the scattering that occurs in these materials.
OpticStudio 15 supports photoluminescence modeling with more realistic inputs. Designers define an absorption spectrum, excitation spectrum or quantum yield, emission spectrum, and particle parameters. These properties can be assigned to any volumetric object in non-sequential mode. In addition, data for several sample phosphor materials are included. This capability supersedes the more approximate waveshift model of photoluminescence and is included in the Premium Edition.
Object Editor : The first of several planned innovations offering users the option of design environment as some users prefer a spreadsheet paradigm, while others prefer a more CAD-like interface. This new feature available in the Premium and Professional Editions allows users to modify any object’s parameter through a graphical user interface similar to CAD programs. Design changes are synced through the entire system so that the editors stay up to date. This would be most useful to designers modeling non-sequential systems that are based upon 3D objects and coordinate systems.
Expanded Freeform Optics : OpticStudio supports several surfaces that can be used for freeform optical design, and all Editions of OpticStudio 15 include Chebyshev surface. This surface along with Zernike polynomials, general XY polynomials, NURB and Bezier splines offer powerful freeform design tools. As manufacturing methods have advanced, optical designers are now able to feasibly incorporate these types of surfaces into their systems. These surfaces can all be optimized and constrained to meet performance and manufacturing constraints.
