Zemax OpticStudio Modeling

Fall 2021

During the fall term of the KCGIP I worked on two sets of optical modeling projects using Zemax OpticStudio. The first set of projects focused on basic optical systems while the second set focused on practical laser systems. Findings from each set of projects were presented in a lab research paper.

Optical systems for the first report were:

• Keplerian and Galilean beam expanders compared for beam quality and aberrations.
• An SLR camera lens designed to minimize distortion and reach specific modulation transfer function targets.
• Young's double slit experiment with different slit apertures.
• Singlet lenses with different designs but equal powers compared for aberrations at their foci (and made using the Zemax API).

Optical systems for the second report were:

• A polygon scanner designed to scan a HeNe beam through an angle of 10°.
• Single-mode fiber coupling of a 3 mm HeNe output.
• A Mach-Zehnder interferometer used to measure the index of refraction and expansion of a silica sample due to temperature changes.