Abstract

How optical scientists work and what they can make has changed profoundly with the information technology revolution of the past 50 years. The software packages developed to aid in the traditional activities of lens and coating design are now several generations old. New programs capable of tackling increasingly sophisticated optical problems are emerging: examples include optimization packages for non-imaging optics in illumination and programs to model the complex physics of multichannel, multiwavelength, fiber-optic telecommunications systems.

[Optical Society of America ]