Optics Software for Layout and Optimization
LAMBDA RESEARCH CORPORATION
SPECTROPOL is a distributor of the renowned company Lambda Research Corporation, which has been providing advanced opto-mechanical design environments for over 30 years. Lambda Research is one of the key players in the optical industry, supporting both university programs, research initiatives, and industrial applications.
Their award-winning software helps designers create innovative solutions, from LED lighting to space telescopes. An intuitive interface and world-class technical support set them apart in the market.
OSLO is advanced software for designing optical systems.
In what areas is OSLO applicable?
OSLO® (Optics Software for Layout and Optimization) is an advanced optical design software that meets today’s optical design requirements. Combining classic lens design functions with modern ray tracing, analysis, and optimization technologies, OSLO offers the versatility that optical engineers need. Additionally, OSLO includes a built-in fast programming language and a separate macro language, enabling the solution of many new optical design problems.
OSLO is a software widely used in lens design, where it allows for the optimization of the size and shape of elements in optical systems. It allows for the modeling of a variety of reflective, refractive, and diffractive components.
With the CCL language, users can create specialized tools for modeling, testing, and manufacturing optical systems, making OSLO a versatile tool in optical design.
OSLO simulates and analyzes the performance of optical systems, supporting the design of advanced devices such as:
- Space telescopes (including segmented mirrors)
- Photographic lenses and zoom systems
- Scanning, cinema, anamorphic and projection systems
- Microscopes, ophthalmic systems, endoscopes
- AR/VR/MR, photolithography, telecommunications and laser systems
- Spectrometers and holographic systems
What is unique about OSLO?
OSLO pioneered the introduction of professional optical design to the desktop. Today, OSLO is the industry standard used by companies worldwide to create better, more efficient optical designs. With advanced optimization, ray tracing, and diffraction analysis, OSLO offers the precision, flexibility, and power that set it apart from other software.
OSLO is much more than just a lens design program. With advanced ray tracing and diffraction analysis, OSLO can design virtually any optical system using free-space propagation.
Optimization is one of OSLO’s strongest features—it often takes just a few clicks to optimize a design, but when more complex solutions are required, OSLO offers advanced tools for full control over the optimization process.
OSLO functionality
OSLO offers a wide range of features including:
Materials and Catalog Lens Databases – Contains over 3,000 ready-to-use lenses and material data from all major glass suppliers.
Special Surface Types – Support for aspherical, inclined, decentered, and diffractive surfaces, as well as other complex types such as splines and gradients.
Ray Tracing – Advanced sequential and non-sequential ray tracing capabilities that can simulate even complex optical systems.
Apertures, Holes, and Obstructions – Ability to define complex optical shapes and holes.
Optimization – Extensive optimization algorithms with flexibility in defining error functions.
Tolerance Analysis – Advanced tools for tolerance analysis, including waveguide and laser beam analysis.
Interoperability with TracePro and other Windows applications – OSLO integrates with programs such as Matlab, Excel, and Word, enabling efficient data exchange.
Two levels of access
OSLO EDU
OSLO Premium
Free educational version, ideal for basic optimization of systems with aspherical, inclined or diffractive surfaces. Offers access to the glass database and lens catalog.
Professional edition offering the full range of features including advanced non-sequential ray tracing, lens group optimization, polarization analysis, diffraction calculations and global optimization.
| GENERAL SURFACE PROPERTIES | OSLO EDU | OSLO Premium |
| Unlimited 3D optics, sources, surfaces, variables, & optimization targets (tilts & bends using local or global coordinates on all surfaces) with test plate libraries | NIE | TAK |
| Non-sequential groups, Regular & tabular arrays, User defined gradient, sag, eikonal and DOE |
| MULTICONFIGURATION SYSTEMS AND VARIABLES | OSLO EDU | OSLO Premium |
| Zoom lens design, thermal configurations, athermal design, and nonsequential systems | NIE | TAK |
| Curvatures, thicknesses, refractive indices & apertures, aspheric, tilts, decenter variables, wavelengths, ray aiming mode, reference surfaces, aperture and FOV variables |
| OPTIMIZASION AND TOLERACING | OSLO EDU | OSLO Premium |
| Autofocus for minimum paraxial focus, RMS spot size or OPD, Damped Least Square | TAK | TAK |
| Standard Surface, component and User defined tolerancing with uniform or Gaussian statistics | ||
| Zernike, MTF, Powell’s Method, Global Optimization, Conformal optics (Wassermann-Wolf) solve | NIE | |
| Change table tolerancing using transverse, spherical, coma, axial & field D-d, best and back focus or focal length, distortion, lateral shear, magnification, axial & field sags and RMS OPD | ||
| MTF/Wavefront tolerancing, Monte Carlo and Tolerance grades and Group tolerancing |
| TOOLS AND ANALYSIS | OSLO EDU | OSLO Premium |
| Spot diagrams, Wavefront and Aberration analyses, Point or line spread function, Intensity output, Geometrical and diffraction based energy distribution with encircled & ensquared energy, MTF, Gausssian beam interactive analysis, Gaussian beam astigmatic trace: independent YZ and XZ analyses | TAK | TAK |
| SCL, CCL – compiled command language (C language syntax – w/ open source library) | ||
| Fiber coupling efficiency, Single-mode coupling with stepped-index or Gaussian-mode fibers | ||
| Narcissus or ghost effects, export DXF, IGES, STEP and 10110 ISO drawings | NIE | |
| Test plate analysis and ranking | ||
| Polarization sources and analysis, Fiber Coupling with user defined mode | ||
| Point or line spread function, vector diffraction, DOE efficiency, multi-layer coating analysis |
| STARTING DESIGN LIBRARIES | OSLO EDU | OSLO Premium |
| OSLO demos & examples, vendor lens catalogs | TAK | |
| Arthux Cox, Ellis Betensky, and Warren Smith libraries (705 lenses) | NIE | TAK |
| Non-sequential & special examples (37 lenses) | ||
