Analysis is one of the most important capabilities an optical design program can provide. ZEMAX supports a wide variety of analysis tools, each with a myriad of options to customise the calculations for maximum flexibility. Extensive defaults are used by the software to provide useful data quickly, and all defaults may be modified for user preference. Text output can be produced for all analyses, to allow data to be exported to other programs if required.

Here is a partial listing of the most commonly used ZEMAX analysis tools:

Layouts

	2D cross section
	3D perspective with rotation
	Wireframe 3D with rotation, pan, zoom
	Solid model (hidden Line) with rotation, pan, zoom
	Singlet and doublet element engineering drawing
	ISO 10110 format drawings

Three dimensional solid modelling

Fans

	Ray aberration
	Optical path difference
	Pupil aberration

A ray fan diagram showing aberrations by wavelength and field position

Spot Diagrams

	Standard field-by-field
	Through focus
	Full field (all at common scale)

Spot sizes shown by wavelength and field angle

Diffraction Analysis

	Modulation transfer function (MTF), including phase
	Square wave MTF
	Through focus MTF (sine or square)
	Point spread function
	Surface 3D MTF
	Geometric transfer function (GTF)
	Through focus MTF
	Wavefront map surface plot

Modulation transfer function compared to the diffraction limit

Encircled Energy

	Diffraction radial
	Geometric radial, x, y
	Extended sources
	Line and Edge response

Encircled energy compared to the diffraction limited spot

Image Analysis

	Geometric Image Analysis
	Diffraction Image Analysis
	Relative Illumination
	Illumination X-Y
	Illumination Scan

This plot shows the x-scan illumination profile of a structured light source

Miscellaneous

	Field curvature and distortion
	RMS vs. field
	Image analysis (extended source imaging capability)
	Interferograms
	Y-Ybar diagram
	Chromatic focal shift
	Vignetting plot
	Dispersion plot, glass map diagrams

 

Simulation of interferometer output

Polarisation Ray-Tracing

	Polarisation state evolution
	Polarisation ellipse pupil map
	System transmission
	Coating reflection, transmission and absorption
	Polarisation aberrations
	System transmission fans

A strongly aspheric aluminium mirror causes polarisation aberrations (below) and a spatially-varying rotation of the polarisation vector (above)

Numerical Computations

	First order system data
	Surface power, volume, edge thickness data
	Ray trace data, real and paraxial
	Fibre Coupling Efficiency
	Transmission (including Fresnel reflections, anti-reflection coatings, glass transmission, vignetting etc)

	Gaussian beam parameters
	Seidel and Zernike aberrations
	Wavefront, transverse, and longitudinal aberrations
	YNI contributions
	Sag tables, maximum aspheric deviation

Remember, this is not a complete list!

Many of these analysis features can present data as either a graphic display or a text listing of data. All have extensive options which can be set to customise the method of calculation or presentation. The data from each analysis feature is displayed in a separate independent window, and multiple windows may be opened simultaneously for comparison.