If you're designing an optical system - be it a single light-bulb or a petawatt laser - there is a software package that can help. But how do you choose the right one for your needs? Michael Hatcher looks at six of the most popular packages used by the optics industry. {7Ez7'SVV  
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As the processing power of PCs has rocketed over the past decade, so optical design software has evolved. Once a highly specialized tool that had to be operated on mainframes and UNIX workstations, now such software is accessible on the desktop of any average optical engineer. !ImtnU}  
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Whether you are designing cameras or radiotelescopes, a wide choice of packages is available to help you. We have taken a look at six of the most widely-used design programs to help you decide which is the most appropriate for your application. @n=FSn6
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Optical design software falls into two broad categories: "classical" lens-design software, and illumination packages. Lens-design software is used to optimize image-forming optical systems. First, you must provide a starting design that includes data such as the shape, size and position of lenses and other optical elements in the system, the system's aperture and field of view, and the wavelengths being used. The program then traces the paths of light-rays entering the system, optimizing the optics using a mathematical algorithm until your target criteria are met. +QrbW