LaserCalc

LaserCalc is a program for Linux to calculate Gaussian laser beams along a path of optical elements. Up to now the program only knows (thin) lenses and distances. However further elements are going to be added soon. Besides the calculation of single-pass setups, the tool also allows to model (ring-)resonators.

In this case the fundamental TEM00 eigenmode is automatically calculated. In addition the stability of the resonator is derived. Finally the modematcher module tries to find the (nearly-)best solution for the transformation of a beam to given target parameters based on a list of available optical elements. It tries all possible element combinations together with an optimization of the respective distances from each other.

What is new in this release:

• Besides several bugfixes, the workfile handling and the import/export function have been improved.
• A new module, "Lens Designer", and new element, "ABCD matrix", have been added.

What is new in version 0.5.1:

• Various code cleanups and optimizations now lead to 30% calculation speedup and less memory consumption.
• This version supports the import of ZEMAX (R) work files.
• Many bugs have been fixed.

What is new in version 0.5:

• Numeric entries use physical dimensions (such as mm or kbar).
• Many bugfixes and significant speedups in the plot system.
• Improved PathPlot: the displayed graph can now be smoothly zoomed using adaptive step size.
• StabilityPlot: stability limits now also use an adaptive step size algorithm for smooth curves which are no longer cut.
• Improved window sizing.
• Plots can now have a title.
• ModeMatcher now supports multi core architectures which dramatically speeds up the calculation time.
• The solutions from Modematcher now have a context menu which allows for opening the solution in an OpticEditor.
• The NotePanel now has a context menu if a text is selected which allows for formatting (style, font, size, etc.)
• Plots can now also be exported to postscript (very experimental).
• VariationAnalysis: Resulting plot is now on a second page in the same module.
• VariationAnalysis: Plot can be dragged and smoothly zoomed. The necessary number of plot points is now automatically calculated.
• Fixed problem during startup under windows XP.
• New optical element added: Thick lens, which is a spherical lens with a thickness, a back and a front radius of curvature as well as an optical material.
• Introduced optical materials to LaserCalc which allows for calculataing the
• dispersion using Sellmeier's equation.
• Added a MaterialEditor which allows for easy adding, modifying and removing of materials from the catalog. In addition the catalog can be saved and loaded.
• Added new module MaterialCalculator for calculing the refractive index an optical material from the catalog with a given wavelength.
• A focal length of zero for a thin lens is now treated a infinity.
• A new menu entry has been added: File->New for starting a new work setup.
• Improved build setup.
• The windows build now uses the current widget theme (e.g. XP them) instead of the old win98 look.
• Some memory leaks have been fixed.
• Countless further minor improvements and bug fixes.

What is new in version 0.3:

• countless internal code changes and cleanups. The new code allows a much easier integration of new calculation modules and optical elements
• the solve button in ModeMatcher is disables now if no OpticEditor is open
• fixed bug if resonator stability becomes extremely small (

What is new in version 0.2 Beta:

• Implemented new much more powerful optimization algorithm based on a combined "Downhill Simplex" and "Simulated Annealing" method.
• In the ModeMatcher module the weighting between target z and w during optimization can now be set.
• fixed bug that sometimes prevented ModeMatcher from working correctly. Closes #2585108.
• fixed problem in OpticEditor causing a sefault while editing a property and selecting a new element afterwards
• number format in all entry fields are now checked. Closes #2588251
• added display of w0 and z in PlotPanel.
• various documentation updates
• many internal code cleanups.
• countless further small fixes.

What is new in version 0.2 Alpha:

• GUI part completely rewritten, the wxWidget (development branch) toolkit is now used.
• Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Project added. This way it is possible now to compile for Windows. (However, cross-compile through MinGW with Linux is also possible).