What is ABCD.app for Mac OS X?

Simple laser beam propagation calculations with ray matrices

Simple beam propagation calculations

ABCD.app is an application for use by students, laser scientists, researchers, and microscopists to quickly estimate the size of their laser beams after a combination of optical elements. Estimating the size of a beam after a single lens is not difficult, however it becomes tedious after more than one lens or when the wavefront is curved, and it is even harder to estimate the effect of slight misalignment or incorrect distances. ABCD.app was made for you: get the properties of your laser beam at any point in your setup with a simple intuitive interface, and see the effects of any adjustements by dragging elements around your setup.

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Propagation and cavity modes

All the calculations follow the simple yet elegant formalism of ray matrices, often called ABCD matrices. This allows the calculation of the propagation of gaussian beams and light rays, or the calculation of eigenmodes in a cavity.

Easy adjustments from interface

Manipulate the elements directly from the interface to see their effects on the beam. Calculations are adjusted in real-time.

Export calculated values

You can copy the values of the beam size and radius to your favorite graphing package such as DataGraph.app

Vector image of setup

You can obtain a copy of the setup as a PDF to paste in your presentations (with or without the beam).

We listen

You have a request for ABCD.app ? As long as it is within the ray matrix formalism, it is possible to accommodate your needs.