Where Can I Find a Tutorial for Simple Optical System Design Using Zemax?

  • Context: Undergrad 
  • Thread starter Thread starter makeendsmeet
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    Design Optical System
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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around seeking resources and tutorials for using Zemax to design simple optical systems. Participants share their experiences and challenges with the software, as well as alternative suggestions for learning.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Technical explanation, Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • One participant requests recommendations for tutorials on using Zemax for optical system design, expressing frustration with existing resources.
  • Another participant asks for clarification on whether the goal is to design a new optical system or analyze an existing one.
  • The original poster confirms they aim to design an optical system from scratch and mentions having reviewed Zemax's tutorials.
  • A different participant shares their own experience with the difficulty of system design using Zemax and suggests an alternative resource, mentioning a knowledgeable individual from the sci.optics community who could provide assistance.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the best resources for learning Zemax, and multiple perspectives on the challenges of using the software are presented.

Contextual Notes

Some limitations include the original poster's specific needs not being met by existing tutorials and the varying levels of difficulty experienced by different users.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in optical system design, particularly those using Zemax or seeking alternative learning resources in optics.

makeendsmeet
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Hi,

Can anybody recommend a tutorial on how to use Zemax to perform simple optical system designs? I've been to Zemax's website and looked at its help section, but it doesn't really help at all. I've also checked out "Introduction to lens Design with Practical Zemax
Examples" by Joseph M. Geary, but I'm still stuck. Thanks!
 
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What are you trying to do? Design an optical system from scratch or analyze an existing design?
 
Designing an optical system from scratch. I've seen the tutorials on Zemax's website.
 
I've done that a few times- it's not easy. I used the Zemax tutorials and had a go at it. In the end I decided system design is not for me.

There's a guy who used to be very active on sci.optics: Jim Klein. He is very anti Zemax, but is very knowledgeable about optical system design and even wrote his own ray trace code (and used to distribute it for free) which he is willing to help you learn. Try finding him and start up a conversation.
 
Thanks! :)
 

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