design op• Data kinds: none → table (an op determined by its arguments alone — it takes no image or data input)
• Call: import raytrace; raytrace.lens_system(surfaces=None, stop=None, object_mm=inf, wavelength_um=0.58756, index_object=1.0, image_mm=None, field=None) (or opsoptics.get("lens_system"))
Build a validated sequential prescription (the `table` every other op consumes).
*surfaces* is a list; each entry is a dict ``{"R", "t", "n", "k", "ap",
"mirror", "decenter", "tilt", "asph"}` or a tuple (R, t, n[, k[, ap]])`:
• `R radius (mm, inf for flat), t` thickness to the next surface
(mm, the last one is the distance to the image plane when *image_mm* is
not given — use `None` to place the image at the paraxial focus),
`n medium after the surface (index, (nd, vd) or :func:glass`),
`k conic (default 0), ap semi-aperture in mm (default None` =
unlimited), `mirror bool, decenter (dx, dy) mm, tilt`
`(ax, ay) degrees about x and y, asph` even aspheric coefficients
`(A4, A6, A8, …)` in mm⁻³, mm⁻⁵, … (default none = pure conic).
• *stop*: index of the aperture-stop surface (default: the first surface).
The stop's `ap` is the stop radius (required unless every surface has
one, in which case the smallest is used).
• *object_mm*: distance from the first vertex to the object (`inf` for a
collimated object); *index_object*: index of object space.
• *field*: default field for the analysis ops — degrees (infinite object)
or object height in mm (finite object). Default 0 (on axis).
Default (no *surfaces*): a plano-convex BK7 singlet, `f ≈ 100 mm`,
`f/4`, stop at the first surface — a sensible starting point for the
examples and for the no-argument registry call.
Returns a plain dict (JSON-friendly) — pass it to the other functions.
Every optics op validates its input before computing (nothing slips through silently):
• Units are baked into the argument name — _mm / _um / _deg / _mrad. Confusing mm with µm does not crash; it yields a plausible-looking wrong answer, so the name prevents it. Nothing here guesses the unit from the magnitude.
• **Strings raise ValueError** — float('50') succeeds, so an unparsed configuration value would slip through as a length (measured: thin_lens('50', '200') returned a plausible 66.667 mm). bool is refused too, as the implicit promotion True == 1.
• **complex / masked arrays raise ValueError (real-valued slots only; silently dropping the imaginary part or peeling off the mask is refused). NaN/Inf raises ValueError on every input.**
• Division by zero and its relatives are refused by name: focal length 0, radius of curvature 0, refractive index <= 0, a fully opaque aperture (all zeros, so the normalisation is 0/0), a PSF whose sum is <= 0, a Stokes vector with S0 = 0, and an object sitting at the front focal point (the image is at infinity).
• Only two ops return a non-finite value, and both state it as a contract: depth_of_field returns far_mm = inf beyond the hyperfocal distance (that is what the hyperfocal distance means), and gaussian_beam returns wavefront_radius_mm = inf at the waist (the radius of curvature of a plane wavefront). Both also return a finite companion (far_is_infinite / curvature_per_mm). **Any other silent NaN/Inf is detected internally and raises ValueError** — "float64 overflowed" and "the answer is infinite" are different claims, so the first is never returned wearing the face of the second.
• Size caps: generated grids are capped by optics.MAX_GRID (4096); supplied fields/PSFs/apertures by optics.MAX_FIELD_ELEMENTS (2^24); ABCD element chains by optics.MAX_SYSTEM_ELEMENTS (1024); Zernike by MAX_ZERNIKE_TERMS (512) / MAX_ZERNIKE_ORDER (40) / MAX_ZERNIKE_BASIS (2^25). This closes, fail-closed, the paths where a small argument triggers a huge internal allocation (measured: n_max=40 × 4096² needs 108 GB).
• Physically impossible states are refused too: a Stokes vector with degree of polarisation > 1, negative transmittance, negative intensity, and invalid Zernike indices such as n-|m| odd.
• Sample-data catalog (download URLs / licences) — 2-D uses skimage.data (BSD/public domain) plus synthetic images; 3-D lists download URLs for real data sources (Stanford, PDS, …).
• Operator provenance and references — the sources of the research/methods this op family came from.
• The canonical algorithm (author, year) and its uses are named in the family usage guide above.
• lens_calibration_loop_demo — py -3.11 examples/lens_calibration_loop_demo.py
• lens_defect_dataset_demo — py -3.11 examples/lens_defect_dataset_demo.py
• lens_design_demo — py -3.11 examples/lens_design_demo.py
• lens_optimize_demo — py -3.11 examples/lens_optimize_demo.py
table as input)abcd_matrix · wavefront_stats · paraxial_trace · seidel_coefficients · spot_stats · tolerance_analysis · wavefront_from_opd · spot_diagram
design)thick_lens · glass · example_system · glass_catalog · sellmeier · paraxial_trace · seidel_coefficients · spot_stats
*Provenance: raytrace.py — OPTICS operator registry. This per-op note is generated by tools/opdocs.py md (do not hand-edit).*
© 2026 Kazufumi Furuse — Fullseye operator documentation. Licensed under Apache-2.0.