Ray Optics Module

New Functionality in Version 5.2a

Ray Tracing Outside the Geometry

It is now possible to trace rays outside the model geometry and in domains that are not included in the selection for the Geometrical Optics physics interface, as long as all such domains have the same homogeneous refractive index. In this case, domains outside the selection of the Geometrical Optics interface do not need to be meshed. However, any boundaries that the rays interact with must still be meshed.

Because it is now possible to release and trace rays outside the geometry, the Wall condition is no longer the default boundary condition on exterior boundaries. Instead, the Material Discontinuity condition is used.

To revert to the old (version 5.2 and earlier) behavior, in which rays can only propagate through meshed domains in the selection of the physics interface, select Advanced Physics Options in the Model Builder and then clear the Allow propagation outside selected domains check box (which is selected by default) in the settings window for the Geometrical Optics interface.

Dedicated Postprocessing Features for Monochromatic Aberrations

The Optical Aberration plot can be used to compute monochromatic aberrations in an imaging system by expanding the optical path difference among rays in terms of a basis of Zernike polynomials. Similarly, the Aberration Evaluation feature can be used to create a table of Zernike coefficients.

Extra Points in the Ray Trajectories Plot

A number of additional data points are now automatically stored in the solution, in addition to the solution times or optical path length increments that are specified in the study settings. These additional solution times typically correspond to points at which rays are reflected or refracted at boundaries.

As a result, plots that are created in version 5.2a may look slightly different than plots that were created in version 5.2 or earlier. In version 5.2a, the rays are more likely to extend all the way to the reflecting or refracting surface, even if the exact instant of reflection or refraction would not otherwise coincide with a stored solution time.

New Options for Cone-Based Release

When releasing a conical distribution of rays, it is now possible to select an option from the Conical distribution list — Uniform density, Specify polar and azimuthal distributions, Marginal rays only, or Marginal and axial rays only. These options affect the distribution of the released rays in the wave vector space.