Design and Analyze Illumination Optical Systems

Synopsys has announced the 8.6 release of its LightTools 3D design software suite for modeling, analyzing and optimizing illumination optics. LightTools 8.6 introduces Tolerance Manager, a capability that, the company says, enables designers to predict the manufacturability of their illumination systems while also controlling manufacturing costs. Other key 8.6 enhancements include support for NURBS and interpolated curves as well as ray data source support for backward simulations.

Synopsys says its Tolerance Manager feature is particularly useful for illumination systems requiring precision manufacturing, such as LED-based light guides, LiDAR (light detection and ranging) systems and illumination components in imaging systems. It describes the capability as providing a comprehensive set of tools for setting tolerance bounds on model parameters, defining performance measures and running sensitivity as well as Monte Carlo analyses.

The Tolerance Manager, the company further explains, provides insights into potential problem areas early in the design process, which can help engineers achieve predictable quality and minimize production costs while maintaining performance goals. The Tolerance Manager can also be used to analyze systems already in production. In this scenario, designers can use it to determine if tolerances can be adjusted to further reduce manufacturing costs. They can also use it to get an understanding of which component and assembly tolerances should be tested during production to improve manufacturing yields.

Additional features highlighted by Synopsys include interactive tolerancing and sensitivity analysis. Interactive tolerancing enables designers to fine-tune tolerance limits and “instantly” see the performance impact of changes, such as impacts on illuminance distribution, color distribution, intensity distribution and power efficiency.

Tolerance Manager's sensitivity analysis capabilities can also be used to evaluate how sensitive each performance measure is to changes in tolerances that affect the illumination system. This feature, explains Synopsys, gives engineers insight into which tolerances drive system performance. This information, in turn, can help engineers make decisions early in the design process that reduce design sensitivity.

The LightTools Tolerance Manager provides Direct Monte Carlo tolerance analysis for fast predictions of system performance as well as a Quadratic Fit Monte Carlo feature that is said to greatly increase analysis speed for many types of systems. The Tolerance Manager is included with the LightTools Optimization Module.

“Effective tolerance analysis is the key to controlling illumination system manufacturing costs, since it identifies achievable component and assembly tolerances,” said George Bayz, vice president of Synopsys' Optical Solutions Group, in a press statement. “The LightTools Tolerance Manager enables the design of robust, cost-effective illumination systems by providing a fast, accurate, and complete understanding of how tolerances affect the systems.”

Beginning with version 8.6, LightTools users can create native NURBS and interpolated curves for swept light guides in place of imported geometry created in 3D CAD programs. The native curves are parameterized and available for illumination system optimization and tolerancing. The newly added support for measured ray data files in backward simulations allows designers to perform more efficient luminance calculations, according to the company.

LightTools previously enabled the design of free-form illumination systems with features that model free-form reflective and refractive surfaces that are shaped to form the resulting light pattern automatically. LightTools 8.6 expands free-form design options with analysis support for extended sources, including disk, rectangle, sphere and ray files.

Version 8.6 also sees enhancements in the LightTools Light Guide Designer. It now includes a new option to enable path angle optimization concurrently with spatial optimization. This is said to make the design process faster and more efficient, particularly for light guides with sources on one end.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company's website.

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