Optiland v0.6.0 Release Notes

<div align="center"> <img width="603" height="371" alt="image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/39dc4d7a-8400-417b-b782-807637d126f3" /> <p><em>Optiland's new comprehensive GUI interface, including the Optimization Panel.</em></p> </div>

v0.6.0 marks a major leap in both performance and physical optics fidelity for Optiland. This release introduces order-of-magnitude speedups in optimization via batched ray evaluation, introduces a dedicated thin-film module, and rigorously expands polarization and source modeling. Furthermore, core architectural changes have been implemented to adhere to SOLID principles, paving the way for a more robust and scalable optical design framework.

We are also excited to announce that Optiland has officially moved to its own organization account: https://github.com/optiland/optiland.

🔭 Advanced System Modeling

Extended Source Modeling

Introduced physically based extended source modeling, a significant addition that enables ray generation directly from fiber sources (e.g., SMF). This includes comprehensive irradiance analysis on detector surfaces and new visualization tools for source properties.

Comprehensive Thin Film Design

Added a full suite of tools for thin-film design, optimization, and analysis. Users can now apply multilayer coatings directly to Optic surfaces. This module also features advanced synthesis capabilities, including the integration of the needle synthesis optimization method.

HeightProfile Phase Interaction

Added a new HeightProfile phase profile that supports wavelength-dependent dispersive materials. The PhaseInteractionModel can now dynamically compute phase maps derived from both a physical height map and material properties for distinct wavelengths.

📐 Physics & Analysis

Vectorial PSF & MTF Calculations

Upgraded point spread function (PSF) and modulation transfer function (MTF) analyses to support full vectorial (polarization-aware) calculations, offering both Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and Huygens-Fresnel integration approaches.

Robust Polarization & Jones Calculus

Completely refactored the polarization architecture and Jones calculus implementation, ensuring rigorous and robust polarization ray tracing throughout complex optical systems.

MTF & Colorimetry Enhancements

• MTF vs. Field Analysis: Introduced the MTFvsField analysis type for evaluating imaging performance across the entire field of view.
• Exit Pupil Scaling: Improved MTF methods to apply mathematically correct scaling based on the exact shape of the exit pupil in real optical systems.
• Colorimetry Module: Added a new colorimetry module to evaluate color rendering and chromatic properties.

Field & Wavelength Weighting

Implemented comprehensive weighting support for fields and wavelengths, improving control over polychromatic calculations and optimization targeting.

⚙️ Core API & Performance

Batched Ray Evaluation

Integrated the BatchedRayEvaluator, profoundly enhancing optimization performance. By intelligently running ray traces in batches, optimization routines now see execution speedups ranging from 3x to 25x, depending on optimization problem complexity.

SOLID Architecture Refactoring

• New Optic API: Introduced a refined Optic API strictly adhering to SOLID principles. (Note: Many legacy Optic methods have been deprecated and will be removed in v0.7.0).
• System Aperture Hierarchy: Refactored system apertures (Entrance Pupil Diameter, Image F-Number, Object NA, and Float by Stop) into a clean, polymorphic class hierarchy.
• Freeform Normalization Radius: Refactored the normalization radius logic for freeform optical geometries (Zernike, Chebyshev, Forbes, NURBS) to prevent silent overrides of user-defined parameters.

Interoperability & File I/O

• Expanded I/O Formats: Added a Zemax writer (exporting Optiland designs to Zemax) and comprehensive read/write support for CODE V files.
• File I/O Refactor: General structural improvements to the I/O codebase for better maintainability and code quality.

Advanced Computational Tools

• Torch Grid Interpolation: Added PyTorch grid interpolation utilizing grid_sample, complete with autograd support for differentiable optical parameters.
• Sobol Distributions: Added Sobol sequence generation for more uniform pseudo-random sampling.

💻 GUI Enhancements

Interface Rework

The Graphical User Interface has undergone a major overhaul to support end-to-end design workflows:

• Full support for interactive system optimization.
• Refactored the analysis system to utilize a unified registry framework.
• Auto-generation of optimization operands specifically for imaging systems.
• Addition of toast notifications for real-time user feedback.
• Expanded GUI test coverage for improved interface stability.

🐛 Stability & Maintenance

• OPD Calculation: Resolved a critical bug affecting Optical Path Difference (OPD) calculations for finite objects and angular fields.
• Ray Aiming Offsets: Fixed ray aiming to properly utilize global coordinates for the stop surface, correcting aiming failures when the aperture stop is not centered on the optical axis.
• Dependency Management: Addressed and resolved various deprecation warnings originating from modern NumPy updates.
• General Fixes: Implemented numerous minor bug fixes and stability improvements across the codebase.

Contributors in v0.6.0

@gustavu92, @manuelFragata, @rjmoerland, @cyberstudio10, @crnh, @lordpositron, @lutzerb, @HarrisonKramer