Automating Optical Design with Zemax API: A Beginner’s Guide to Python Integration
In the field of optical design, automation can significantly enhance productivity and accuracy by reducing the time spent on repetitive tasks and streamlining workflows. The Zemax API (Application Programming Interface) provides a powerful way to programmatically interact with Zemax OpticStudio, enabling automation and integration with external tools and applications. Whether you’re optimizing designs, performing analyses, or generating reports, the Zemax API makes it all possible through programming languages like Python, MATLAB, and C++/C#.
What is the Zemax API?
The Zemax API allows developers to control OpticStudio externally via its ZOS-API. With the ZOS-API, users can:
- Automate Design Processes: Save time by automating tasks like lens creation, parameter adjustments, and performance analyses.
- Integrate with Workflows: Seamlessly incorporate Zemax into larger design and analysis pipelines.
- Generate Reports: Create automated, customizable reports for optical systems.
This capability is especially beneficial for users who frequently perform iterative tasks or need to integrate Zemax into broader engineering processes.
Why Use Python with Zemax API?
Python is a popular choice for working with the Zemax API due to its versatility, readability, and extensive libraries. By combining Python with the ZOS-API, users can:
- Automate the creation and editing of optical systems.
- Leverage Python's robust data processing and visualization libraries for advanced analysis.
- Simplify scripting tasks for optical simulations.
With tools like Anaconda and Python interpreters like Spyder, getting started with Python and Zemax is both accessible and efficient.
Key Steps to Automating Zemax with Python
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Set Up the Environment:
- Install Python (e.g., version 3.12.4) and a compatible interpreter like Spyder.
- Ensure Pythonnet is installed, as it is required to interface with the ZOS-API.
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Use Example Codes:
- Zemax provides sample Python scripts located in the
Documents\Zemax\ZOS-API Sample Code\Pythondirectory. - These examples serve as a foundation for building custom scripts.
- Zemax provides sample Python scripts located in the
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Write Custom Scripts:
- Start with the provided header code to establish the connection between Python and Zemax.
- Add custom code to create and manipulate optical systems, such as defining system parameters, lenses, and materials.
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Leverage ZOS-API Syntax Help:
- Access the ZOS-API syntax help in the Programming tab of OpticStudio for guidance on specific commands and functions.
What to Expect in This Blog
In the following sections, we’ll walk through a practical example of using Python with the Zemax API to:
- Create a simple optical system (e.g., a lens).
- Define system properties such as aperture, field, and wavelength.
- Edit lens parameters programmatically and apply special commands like reversing lens directions or optimizing the F-number.
By the end, you’ll have a clear understanding of how to harness Python and the Zemax API to automate optical design tasks, enabling you to save time, reduce errors, and unlock new possibilities in your workflows. Whether you’re a seasoned programmer or new to scripting, this guide will help you get started with confidence.
Zemax API (Application Programming Interface) is a set of programming interfaces that allow external control and automation of Zemax OpticStudio. The API enables developers to interact with OpticStudio programmatically using languages like Python, MATLAB, and C++ and C#.
To create a standalone application using the Zemax API with Python, you need to interface with Zemax through its ZOS-API. The ZOS-API allows you to control Zemax from an external Python environment, enabling automated tasks like design optimization, analysis, and report generation. This is especially useful when integrating Zemax into larger workflows or automating repetitive tasks.
Here presents an instance of using Zemax API with Python to generate and edit an optical system. The Zemax OpticStudio used in this application is 2024 R1.00. The python interpreter is 3.12.4, downloaded from https://www.python.org/downloads/. The python compiler in this instance is spyder 5.5.1, integrated in Anaconda 3, downloaded from https://www.anaconda.com/download/.
Zemax provides multiple python example code located at Documents\Zemax\ZOS-API Sample Code\Python. To run those codes, the compiler requires Pythonnet module. Here in the anaconda, the Pythonnet is already installed. Otherwise, an instruction of how to install Pythonnet is provided in example code.
The python standalone application code starts from header codes of about 160 lines. This code chunk locates the installed version of OpticStudio, determines root directory, creates namespace and class, load local variables. In most cases, these code chunks are not required to be edited.
Below these code chunks, the user application code can be inserted to generate ZOS file. Here I use an example (#1) for demonstration of how to use the code. This code creates a simple lens with system definitions. With the code below, they are saved at ZOS file directory: /Documents\Zemax\Samples\API\Python.
The code chunk below defines the system setting, i.e. aperture, field and wavelength. One additional field of Y height = 5 mm is added above the default field Y height = 0.
In the generated Zemax file, these properties are verified below:
The code chunk below defines the lens parameters, including radius, thickness and material. We can see how the code definition relates to the lens data editor in generated ZOS file.
The lens layout is as below:
If some special edit is needed for the defined lens, such as reversed, a quick method is to find corresponding command from the ZOS-API syntax help located at Programming tab.
It can be found from the help document that the syntax of reversing lens is below:
In the code, we can add the command on the surface 2 and 3, as below:
Rerun the whole code chunk, the lens direction is changed.
The next code chunk below is to define an F number solve at surface 3. Then based on such solve type, a quick focus command is executed to find the best focus position. F number solve forces the curvature of the surface such that the marginal ray angle exiting the surface is -1/2F, where F is the paraxial F/#.
The completed system is shown below:
This example demonstrated using Python to create a lens and define properties. Beyond basic format definition of optical properties, how to integrate special command is very helpful in system definition and revision. It is recommended programmers seek useful information from ZOS-API syntax help.
