opticalSystem

R2026b

Model components of optical system

Since R2026a

Description

Add-On Required: This feature requires the Optical Design and Simulation Library for Image Processing Toolbox add-on.

An opticalSystem object models the components of a physical optical system.

Create and add components to the optical system using these object functions.

• addRefractiveSurface — Create and add at least two refractive surfaces, which comprise a lens, to the optical system. To apply a coating to all lenses in the optical system, use the addCoating object function.

• addImagePlane — Create and add an image plane to the optical system.

• addImageSensor — Create and add an image sensor to the optical system. Use this object function when you want to render an eSFR or color checker test chart through an optical system.

• addDiaphragm — Create and add a diaphragm to the optical system.

• addMirror — Create and add a mirror to the optical system.

• add — Add an existing component or a set of components to the optical system. To add a gap after adding an optical component using this function, use the addGap object function.

Specify the coordinate system for the optical axis of the next component to be added, also known as a coordinate break, using the setConstructionFrame object function.

To modify the components of an existing optical system, such as one imported using the zmximport function, use the changeGap, insert, and remove object functions.

Analyze optical systems using the opticalSensitivity and opticalTolerance object functions. (since R2026b)

Creation

Syntax

opsys = opticalSystem

opsys = opticalSystem(PropertyName=Value)

Description

opsys = opticalSystem creates an empty optical system.

opsys = opticalSystem(PropertyName=Value) sets writable properties using one or more name-value arguments.

Properties

Name — Name of optical system

"Optical System" (default) | scalar | character vector

Name of the optical system, specified as a scalar or character vector.

Wavelengths — Operational wavelengths

[486.1340 587.5618 656.2810] (default) | M-element numeric vector

Operational wavelengths, specified as an M-element numeric vector. M is the number of wavelengths. The wavelengths you specify must be positive, and the object sorts them in ascending order.

WavelengthWeights — Weights of operational wavelengths

M-element numeric vector

Since R2026b

Weights of operational wavelengths, specified as an M-element numeric vector. M is the number of wavelengths. The wavelength weights you specify must be positive. By default, the weight is 1 for each wavelength. The OpticalSensitivity, OpticalTolerance, SpotRMS, WavefrontRMS, and WavefrontPeakToValley objects normalize the weights to sum to 1 during metric evaluation.

PrimaryWavelengthIndex — Index of primary wavelength

integer in range [1, M]

Index of the primary wavelength, specified as an integer in the range [1, M]. M is the number of wavelengths in the Wavelengths property. By default, the index of the primary wavelength is M/2, rounded up to the nearest integer.

AmbientMaterial — Ambient material

opticalMaterial object

Ambient material, specified as an opticalMaterial object. The ambient material is the material before the first surface, after the last surface, and in the gap between components, such as air or vacuum. The default ambient material is vacuum.

FieldPoints — Field points

array of FieldPosition and FieldAngle objects | array of FieldPosition objects | array of FieldAngle objects

Field point representation of a light source or light sources, specified as one of these options:

FieldPoints value	Light Source Type
Array of FieldAngle objects	Field points represent light sources that are at an infinite distance from the first surface of the optical system.
Array of FieldPosition objects	Field points represent light sources that are at a finite distance from the first surface of the optical system.
Array of FieldPosition and FieldAngle objects	Field points represent two types of light sources, either at an infinite distance or at a finite distance from the first surface of the optical system.

To specify light source representations, create field points or arrays of field points using the fieldPoint function.

FieldPointWeights — Weights of field points

N-element numeric vector

Since R2026b

Weights of field points, specified as an N-element numeric vector. N is the number of field points. The field point weights you specify must be positive. By default, the weight is 1 for each field point. The OpticalSensitivity, OpticalTolerance, SpotRMS, WavefrontRMS, and WavefrontPeakToValley objects normalize the weights to sum to 1 during metric evaluation.

ObjectPlane — Object plane

ObjectPlane object

Object plane, specified as an ObjectPlane object. The object plane serves as the starting point for the light rays that travel through the optical system, and is defined by the position, shape, and tilt angle of a planar surface. By default, the object plane is located at infinity.

TiltAngle — Tilt angle of optical system

[0 0 0] (default) | 3-element row vector

Tilt angle of the optical system, specified as a 3-element row vector. The vector is in the form [$${\theta }_x$$ $${\theta }_y$$ $${\theta }_z$$], where $${\theta }_x$$, $${\theta }_y$$, and $${\theta }_z$$ are tilt angles with respect to the global x, y, and z-axes.

To learn more about coordinate systems, see Coordinate Systems in Optics.

Note

The TiltAngle property represents Euler angles. If you specify angles that are multiples of 90 degrees, visually verify the orientation of the optical system. Gimbal lock can occur, in which two of the three rotational axes become aligned. This alignment results in the loss of one degree of freedom, and can lead to ambiguous or unintended orientations.

Position — Position of optical system

[0 0 0] (default) | 3-element row vector

Position of the optical system, specified as a 3-element row vector. The vector is in the form [x y z], where each element is the global x-, y-, and z-coordinate.

Specify the Position property to select the origin coordinates for the optical system.

To learn more about coordinate systems, see Coordinate Systems in Optics.

ConstructionFrame — Local reference frame for next added component

4-by-4 matrix

Local reference frame for the next added component, specified as a 4-by-4 matrix. For the default optical system created using the opticalSystem object, the object positions the component with respect to the global reference frame, and the value of ConstructionFrame is eye(4). To specify the construction reference frame, use the setConstructionFrame object function.

After you add or remove a component from the optical system, the opticalSystem object updates the ConstructionFrame property to the initial position and tilt angle of the next component.

To learn more about working with the construction coordinate system, see Coordinate Systems in Optics.

UserData — Custom user data

[] (default)

Custom user data, specified as any data type.

Coatings — Optical coatings

array of opticalCoating objects

Optical coatings used in the optical system, represented as an array of opticalCoating objects.

Materials — Materials used in optical system

Read-only: array of opticalMaterial objects

This property is read-only.

Materials used in the optical system, represented as an array of opticalMaterial objects.

Components — Components of optical system

Read-only: array of components

This property is read-only.

Components of the optical system, represented as an array of components. Each element of the array can be a LensElement, Diaphragm, Mirror, ImagePlane, or ObjectPlane object. The order of the components is with respect to the ray propagation along the optical axis, beginning with the light source.

FlattenedComponents — Flattened components of optical system

Read-only: array of components

This property is read-only.

Flattened components of the optical system, represented as an array of components. If any elements of the Components property are opticalSystem objects, this property flattens them and replaces them with the contents of their corresponding Components properties. The opticalSystem object orders the components with respect to the ray propagation along the optical axis, beginning with the light source.

Surfaces — Surfaces in optical system

Read-only: array of Surface objects

This property is read-only.

Surfaces in the optical system, represented as an array of Surface objects. The opticalSystem object orders them with respect to the ray propagation along the optical axis, beginning with the light source. You can create Surface objects by using the addRefractiveSurface, addMirror, addDiaphragm, or addImagePlane object functions.

SurfaceTable — Surface properties

Read-only: table

This property is read-only.

Surface properties for all surfaces in the optical system, represented as a table. The table contains C rows, where C is the number of surfaces in the optical system. The table contains these columns:

• Radius — Surface radius, represented as a numeric scalar. For biconic surfaces, this value specifies the radius along the x-direction.

• Shape — Surface shape, specified as a cell array of surface parameters. For circular shapes, the cell contains a scalar semi‑diameter. For rectangular shapes, the cell contains a 1‑by‑2 vector of the form [width height].

• Position — Surface position, represented as a 3-element row vector.

• MaterialName — Surface material name, represented as a string scalar.

• NdVd — Index of refraction and Abbe number of the surface material, represented as a row vector of the form [N_d V_d], where N_d and V_d are the index of refraction and Abbe number, respectively.

• Surface — Surface, represented as a Surface object.

• ComponentType — Component type, represented as a string scalar.

• ComponentIndex — Component index, represented as a positive integer. This value indicates the element of the Components property that corresponds to each surface.

• FlattenedComponentIndex — Flattened component index, represented as a positive integer. This value indicates the element of the FlattenedComponents property that corresponds to each surface.

• Component — Component that contains each surface, represented as a LensElement object, a Diaphragm object, a Mirror object, an ImagePlane object, or an ObjectPlane object.

• Material — Optical material of each surface, stored as an opticalMaterial object.

Object Functions

Create System

addRefractiveSurface	Add refractive surface component to optical system
addImageSensor	Add image sensor to optical system
addImagePlane	Add image plane component to optical system
addDiaphragm	Add physical diaphragm component to optical system
addMirror	Add mirror component to optical system
addGap	Add gap between optical components
addCoating	Add optical coating to lens surfaces in optical system
removeCoating	Remove optical coatings from lens surfaces in optical system
add	Add optical component to optical system
setConstructionFrame	Set coordinate break for all subsequent components in optical system
resolveMaterials	Resolve component materials in optical system against glass library

Modify and Tune System

focus	Position image plane of optical system to minimize RMS spot size
updateSemiDiameters	Update semi-diameters of surfaces in optical system
insert	Insert optical component into optical system
remove	Remove component from optical system
changeGap	Change gap between components in optical system
distanceAfter	Query distance after optical component
distanceBefore	Query distance before optical component

Analyze System

halfFieldOfView	Compute half field of view of optical system
paraxialInfo	Compute paraxial information, including cardinal points, for optical system
traceRays	Perform ray tracing through optical system
traceDirectedRays	Trace rays from specific origins along specific directions through optical system
traceAimedRay	Trace ray aimed at specific point on target optical surface
traceChiefRay	Trace chief ray through optical system
traceMarginalRays	Trace marginal rays through optical system
spot	Compute spot at which rays converge in image plane
psf	Compute point spread function of optical system
mtf	Compute modulation transfer function of optical system
airyDiskRadius	Compute Airy disk radius of diffraction-limited optical system
fieldCurvature	Compute tangential and sagittal field curvature
lensDistortion	Compute geometric lens distortion for optical system
rayAberration	Compute tangential and sagittal ray aberration of optical system
chromaticAberration	Compute lateral and longitudinal chromatic aberration of optical system
opd	Optical path difference for optical system
opticalSensitivity	Analyze sensitivity of optical system
opticalTolerance	Monte Carlo tolerance analysis of optical system

Examples

Create Simple Optical System

Create an empty optical system and display its properties.

opsys = opticalSystem

opsys = 
  opticalSystem with properties:

   Main properties
                      Name: "Optical System"
         PrimaryWavelength: 587.5618
               Wavelengths: [486.1340 587.5618 656.2810]
         WavelengthWeights: [1 1 1]
               FieldPoints: [1×1 optics.fieldpoint.FieldAngle]
         FieldPointWeights: 1
                Components: [0×1 optics.component.Component]
       FlattenedComponents: [0×1 optics.component.Component]
                 Materials: [0×0 opticalMaterial]
                  Surfaces: [0×0 optics.surface.Surface]
              SurfaceTable: [0×0 table]

   Extended properties
                  UserData: []
               ObjectPlane: [1×1 optics.component.ObjectPlane]
    PrimaryWavelengthIndex: 2
           AmbientMaterial: [1×1 opticalMaterial]
                  Coatings: [0×0 opticalCoating]
         ConstructionFrame: [4×4 double]
                  Position: [0 0 0]
                TiltAngles: [0 0 0]

To add a lens component to the optical system, create the two refractive surfaces of the lens using the addRefractiveSurface object function. Specify the lens glass material using the Material name-value argument for the first surface. Specify the center thickness of the lens, in millimeters, using the DistanceToNext name-value argument for the first surface.

addRefractiveSurface(opsys,Radius=15,Material=[1.74 25.4],DistanceToNext=3)
addRefractiveSurface(opsys,Radius=-15,DistanceToNext=6.5)

Add an image plane using the addImagePlane object function.

addImagePlane(opsys)

Trace rays through the optical system using the traceRays object function. Specify the ray wavelength as the Fraunhofer d line using the Wavelengths name-value argument.

rays = traceRays(opsys,Wavelengths=587.5618);

Display a 2-D visualization of the optical system using the view2d object function. Visualize the traced rays on the displayed optical system using the addRays object function.

hv = view2d(opsys);
addRays(hv,rays)

Version History

Introduced in R2026a

R2026b: Analyze sensitivity and tolerance of optical system

Analyze sensitivity and tolerance of an optical system using the opticalSensitivity and opticalTolerance object functions.

R2026b: Specify weights for wavelengths and field points during metric evaluation

Specify weights for wavelengths and field points to use during metric evaluation using the new properties WavelengthWeights and FieldPointWeights.

R2026b: Add image sensor to optical system

You can now add an image sensor to an optical system for use with test image rendering functionality by using the addImageSensor object function.

R2026b: Compute OPD and wavefront error

You can now compute optical path difference (OPD), optical path length (OPL), and other related quantities, and perform wavefront error analysis by using the opd object function.

Evaluate the peak-to-valley wavefront and RMS wavefront error metric for the optical system merit function by using the evaluate object function of the opticalMeritFunction object.

R2026b: Trace directed rays through optical system

You can now trace rays with specified origins and directions through an optical system by using the traceDirectedRays object function.