01
Choose your optics.
Set the source wavelength and profile. Add lenses and mirrors, insert supported Thorlabs singlets, or work from your own prescription.
Optical design for laser beam delivery
Design your laser beam path. Before you build it.
Choose optics, arrange your beam path, and inspect the modeled focus in your browser.
Currently free to use · No installation · Verify your email to start
Change the lens. Move the plane. See the result.
95 mm 102 mm
Preparing the scene…
Drag to orbit · Select an opticField 1 · X 0°, Y 0° Wavelengths · 1/1
About this example · No account needed
Only the front conic changes: 0 to −1. Radius, glass, and thickness stay the same. These are example shapes, not optimized designs.
632.8 nm λ · 20 mm ⌀ flat-top beam · 25 mm ⌀ BK7 lens
Compare the reported RMS spot radius and axis values as you make a change. Plot axes rescale to the result.
01 / Work through the design
From component choice to modeled focus.
For engineers building laser machines, instruments, and laboratory setups. Start with stock optics, arrange the beam path, and inspect the modeled result.
02
Arrange the beam path.
Set component spacing and mirror orientation. Inspect the folded layout in 3D and adjust alignment as you explore the design.
03
Inspect the focus.
Run supported optical analyses, adjust the Image Plane, and save your system. Make an independent copy when you want to explore another direction.
Need a custom lens? Generate and refine an individual lens against a target focal length, with control over its spherical or aspheric surfaces.
02 / Make the result useful
Where should the working plane go?
Try the lens shape and plane-position controls above, then choose another analysis in the result panel. Use the computed result to inform the next change to your design.
- Inspect the spot.
- See the ray distribution at the Image Plane and examine the reported spot statistics.
- Explore the focus position.
- Examine spot variation through focus and refocus the Image Plane using a selected criterion.
- Look into the prescription.
- Use PSF, wavefront error, and chromatic focus shift for supported sources to investigate optical performance.
Asset to provide
Annotated capture of the live experiment
Optional supporting asset: provide a readable capture explaining what to notice in a spot or through-focus result. The live analysis above already works. Keep source settings, plane position, axes, and units visible.
The interactive example above calculates real results. This space is for an explanatory capture, not additional simulation.
Currently free to use · No installation · Verify your email to start
03 / A useful starting point
Start with a system. Make it your own.
Choose a starter system close to what you’re building. Inspect the layout, then adapt the source, optics, and spacing to your situation.
Asset to provide
Starter system 01
System preview, name, and application description to be supplied.
Asset to provide
Starter system 02
System preview, name, and application description to be supplied.
Asset to provide
Starter system 03
System preview, name, and application description to be supplied.
Inspect a starter’s components and supported analyses, then create an account to save your own copy and develop the design.
Launch preview · Three starter systems and their links to be supplied.
04 / Keep the work moving
A design you can return to. And build on.
Keep the component choices, layout, and source settings together as the design develops.
Reuse optics you have already defined.
Save lens prescriptions in your personal library and insert independent copies into another system.
Keep your work private.
Save systems to your account and reopen the layout later. New designs are private unless you choose to share them.
Give someone the design to inspect.
Share an unlisted link for others to view the system and run supported analyses. They can save their own copy without changing your original.
Before you get started
A few practical details.
What you need to begin, how your designs are shared, and where LensKit fits.
Is LensKit free?
LensKit is currently free to use. Create an account, verify your email, and choose a username to start designing. Paid features are planned later; their scope and pricing have not been decided.
Do I need to know Zemax?
No prior Zemax workflow is required. You work with a source, lenses, mirrors, spacing, and an Image Plane in a visual workspace. You will still need to define your optical requirements and interpret the modeled results. LensKit focuses on beam-delivery design and individual-lens tools; it does not cover every specialist optical-design workflow.
Can I start with stock optics?
Yes. Browse Thorlabs lens data and insert supported, spectrum-compatible singlets into your system. You can also enter your own prescription or reuse a lens from your personal library. Check current part specifications with the supplier before ordering.
Are my designs public?
New designs are private. You can keep them private, share an unlisted link, or publish them in the gallery. People with access can inspect the system and run supported analyses. Editing another person’s design requires an independent copy; it does not change the original.
Can I model Gaussian beam propagation?
The editor supports Gaussian source profiles and ray-based optical analysis. A complete Gaussian beam propagation workflow is not currently available.
Can I take a design into Zemax?
The current editor imports and exports LensKit JSON files. Zemax .zmx export is not currently available.
Design your laser beam path before you build it.
Choose optics, adjust spacing, and inspect the modeled results in your browser.
Currently free to use · No installation · Verify your email to start