Visualization techniques of light propagation in optical design tasks

Applications of visualization techniques of light propagation in the tasks of efficient analysis and design of optical systems are considered. Conception of the light propagation criterion is introduced. Simple criteria (consisting of elementary light propagation events) and complex criteria (combining a number of simple criteria) are considered. Two ways of representation of the light simulation results are proposed — distribution of output light results on the detectors and visualization of ray traces. Real examples of efficient applications of joint use of light propagation criteria and light propagation visualization in the task of analysis and design of optical systems are also adduced.