A tree-like data structure for sequential and multi-sequential ray tracing

In the area of computer-aided optical design most software packages rely on a surface list based data structure.For classical on-axis lenses -such as camera lensesthe list-based data structure is a suitable way for managing lens data.However, for ACCEPTED ARTICLE PREVIEWBaer et al.Light: Advanced Manufacturing (XXXX)X: XXX PAGE22 / NUMPAGES22 modern high-end optical systems such as off-axis free-form designs, multi-path systems or for accurate tolerance analysis of complex opto-mechanical systems, the list-based approach often reaches its limits.In this paper we present a new tree-like data structure that is able to solve many of the problems that emerge from surface list based data structures.