User Manual: Zemax

Zemax User Manual: A Comprehensive Guide

Optimization fundamentals

• Glass Catalog: search by name, vendor (Schott, Ohara), refractive index and Abbe number; add custom glasses.
• Wavelengths: Define design wavelengths (e.g., 486.1 nm, 587.6 nm, 656.3 nm) and use additional wavelengths for testing (e.g., more sampling for broadband designs).
• Dispersion models: Use Sellmeier parameters or catalog values; model chromatic aberration with multiple wavelengths.

For Ansys OpticStudio (Current)

• Official source: Ansys Customer Portal (requires a valid license and support contract).
• Direct path: Login → Support → Documentation → OpticStudio → "OpticStudio_User_Manual.pdf"
• File size: Approximately 50 MB, latest version for 2024 R2 is ~2,800 pages.

While it might seem daunting at first, learning to navigate this manual is the single fastest way to level up from a casual user to a power user. Here is why you need to embrace it. zemax user manual

Scenario A: Designing a Double Gauss Lens from Scratch

• Step 1 in manual: Chapter 4, "Building a Lens." Follow the default radius and thickness entry.
• Step 2: Chapter 15, "Local Optimization." The manual explains the difference between DLS (Damped Least Squares) and Orthogonal DLS.
• Common pitfall: The manual explicitly warns that the default merit function ( Tools > Default Merit Function ) is only a starting point. Do not rely on it for glass boundaries.

3. Zemax Interface Overview

Optimization: This chapter details the Optimization Wizard and the Merit Function, which is the heart of automated design improvement. Glass Catalog: search by name, vendor (Schott, Ohara),