Version 15.66

The update to version 15.66 incorporates the following changes:

Features:

  1.  The new version of object OBD has been revised.  The pupil from a real stop is rotated with skew field, and the new OBD will now follow that same rule, to make things simpler to understand.
  2.  ACON PICKUPS … now transfers all ZFILE object data if you specify 1 POB 1.  Before, it only transferred data from zoom 1 .
  3.  SYNOPSYS can now run on a remote desktop.  The dongle must be plugged in to that PC for it to work.

Bugs Fixed:

  1.  AED worked on all lenses, including aspherics.  But that makes no sense, since the target to make the paraxial power go to zero ignored the higher orders.  Now, AED ignores aspheric elements and the problem goes away.
  2.  ZDWG did not properly draw rays if the lens used the new OBD object.
  3.  Multicore optimization with the new switch 99 did not work properly if the optimization failed on the first pass.
  4.  Hyperhemispheric surfaces were not drawn correctly by CDWG.
  5.  If you gave a FIXed tolerance to an RFR in BTOL, the summary at the end did not repeat the same value if the element had EFILE data where point “A” was not at the CAO of the lens.

 

Version 15.65

The update to version 15.65 incorporates the following changes:

Features:

  1.  ZSEARCH now lets you specify PLASTIC materials.
  2.  AED now honors switch 99.
  3.  The behavior of object type OBD has been revised.  Before, the size of the entering beam would change if the first radius of curvature changed — which made no sense.  Now the default pupil with this object type traces a beam with constant size measured perpendicular to the chief ray.  This is similar to the effect of the WAP 1 pupil, although the position of the rim rays still varies somewhat if the first radius is steep.  Once you change to a real pupil and implement WAP 2 or 3, this size is adjusted, as before.

Bugs Fixed:

  1.  The TN function crashed in the previous version.
  2.  The lens layout tool (LLT) crashed if a previous optimization used the SNAP option.
  3.  Problems were discovered that involved certain combinations of ZSEARCH, OBD, VFIELD, ACONS, PAD SCAN, and optimization with switch 99 turned on.
  4.  The quick mode in ZSEARCH did not honor all of the SPECIAL AANT entries correctly.
  5.  The automatic aspheric assignment AAA did not return the best case if any of them encountered ray failures.
  6.  REVERSE did not work properly on zoom lenses.

 

Version 15.64

The update to version 15.64 incorporates the following changes:

Features:

  1. DSEARCH now puts color “M” in the optimization file if you requested GSHEAR and multicolors.
  2.  A new system flag REPUPIL B is now implemented.  This is intended for the rare case when the paraxial chief-ray path yields a real ray that traces but comes out on the wrong side of a caustic.
  3.  You can now MAP the hologram surface frequency on a requested surface.  Before, it analyzed the last HOE in the system.
  4.  DSEARCH now can model aspheres as Forbes type A surfaces.
  5. A new monitor ADM will control the minimum diameter/thickness ratio.  (Monitor ADT controls the maximum value.)
  6.  We have reinstated switch 65, which some found useful.  It adjusts the entrance pupil for PAD and some other drawings.
  7.  The SYNOPSYS command, which starts optimization, now honors the CORE directive, if switch 99 is ON.  There is much overhead involved in starting and managing the other processes, and for simple jobs the gain is not worth the cost.  But for very slow optimizations this can speed things up considerably.  The search programs already use all declared cores, and this switch has no effect on those features.
  8.  A new feature, RAS, will recast a surface into a simple power-series polynomial.  Weird shapes cannot always be matched and still have the same shape, but if your aspheres are gentle, this will convert them.

Bugs Fixed:

  1.  DSEARCH makes a file DSS.MAC, which did not work.
  2.  SPBUILD did not save its cases with the correct file name.

 

Version 15.63

The update to version 15.63 incorporates the following changes:

Features:

  1. A new surface shape is available.  Type USS 29 is an 8th-power fully-populated polynomial.
  2.  ZSEARCH now supports object type OBD, as well as ZFOCUS with that object type.

Bugs Fixed:

  1.  An input error in the DSEARCH file could make multicore operations hang.
  2.  Entering WAP 2 and then STOP FREE in DSEARCH (which is not allowed) now aborts nicely.
  3.  The AGROUP option in ZSEARCH was not properly initialized if you had run a previous case.
  4.  The monitor AZA (automatic zoom airspaces) did not work on group 1 if that group started at surface