Zemax Development supports the Radiant Imaging data format for scatter and appearance measurements.
Optical designers can now use ZEMAX-EE, the company’s software for lens design, illumination system design, laser beam propagation and stray light analysis, to incorporate measured surface scatter data from the Radiant Imaging IS-SA (Imaging Sphere for Scatter and Appearance measurement) in optical analyses. Applications include design and simulation of luminaires, lighting systems, and other optical systems.
Accurate modelling of surface scatter is critical to the design of many types of imaging and illumination optical systems. While ZEMAX-EE supports the non-sequential ray tracing capabilities that are necessary to properly analyse scattering and stray light, the program has been limited to Lambertian, Gaussian and ABg (smooth optical surface scatter) scattering distributions, as well as user defined distributions that can be specified analytically. Now, ZEMAX-EE adds the ability to incorporate measured scatter data from the Radiant Imaging IS-SA. This significantly expands the types of surfaces which can be modelled, as well as the overall accuracy of modelling.
The Radiant Imaging IS-SA provides complete, high-speed, measurement of surface scatter properties. Combining a goniometric illumination system, a patented optical configuration, and Radiant’s ProMetric Series imaging colorimeter, the IS-SA allows surfaces to be illuminated from user selectable angles, and captures the scatter distribution over a complete hemisphere in a single photopic or colorimetric image. Measured quantities include BRDF (bi-directional reflectance distribution), BTDF (bi-directional transmission distribution) and TIS (Total Integrated Scatter). IS-SA data is stored in the BSDF Data Interchange file format developed by Radiant Imaging, and this is file format now supported by Zemax. Almost any material surface can be measured by the IS-SA system, including metal, plastic, paper, textiles, optical films (such as brightness enhancing or anti-reflection films), surface treatments (such as polishes and paints), and skin and hair. Applications span optical design, rendering and computer simulation, production quality control and material classification.