LabCanvas
Sign inStart free
FeaturesTemplatesGalleryPricingBlogDashboard

LabCanvas Optics: draw optical setups with the beam path simulated live

How to build optical setup diagrams in LabCanvas Optics: lasers, lenses, mirrors, beam splitters, gratings and detectors on a breadboard, rays and beams traced as you move parts, interference, ready-made setups and clean schematics for figures.

By LabCanvas team1 min read
LabCanvas Optics with a Michelson interferometer on a breadboard: a HeNe laser, a beam splitter, two mirrors and a camera, with the beam traced in red
Optics in LabCanvas. Open it in your browser.
Contents

LabCanvas Optics is an app for optical setups: place lasers, lenses, mirrors, beam splitters, gratings and detectors on a breadboard and the beam path is traced live as you move them. It is a drawing tool for clean setup schematics and a quick simulator for checking that a layout works. Setups go into figures as editable vector drawings.

Ready-made setups

Open an example and change it, or start with an empty table.

Michelson interferometer in LabCanvas Optics
Michelson interferometer
Epi-fluorescence microscope in LabCanvas Optics
Epi-fluorescence microscope
Mercury lines on a diffraction grating in LabCanvas Optics
Mercury lines on a grating

Other examples: Mach–Zehnder interferometer, Keplerian beam expander, spatial filter, prism spectrum, polarization with a half-wave plate and a polarizing beam splitter, fibre coupling, frequency doubling from 1064 to 532 nm, galvo scanning and a double slit.

Parts

GroupExamples
SourcesHeNe 632.8 nm, diode lasers, argon-ion, Nd:YAG, Ti:sapphire, LEDs, mercury and sodium lamps
LensesPlano-convex, bi-convex, aspheres, achromatic doublets, cylindrical and ball lenses, objectives, axicons
MirrorsMetal and dielectric, spherical, parabolic, retroreflectors, galvo and polygon scanners, DMDs
Splitters and prismsCubes, plates, pellicles, polarizing beam splitters, dispersive and right-angle prisms, gratings
Filters and aperturesIris, slits and pinholes, ND and colour filters, long-pass and laser-line filters
DetectorsPhotodiodes, quadrant photodiodes, power meters, cameras, spectrometers
ElectronicsAmplifiers, lock-in amplifiers, PID controllers, oscilloscopes, signal generators

How to draw a setup

  1. Open Optics and pick an example or an empty table.
  2. Click a part in the left panel to add it after the selected one, or drag it onto a beam.
  3. Move and rotate parts; the beams follow live. Switch between Beams and Rays.
  4. Label parts and add dimension lines, arrows and enclosures.
  5. Click Add setup to canvas to send it to your figure.

Beams, rays and interference

The Beams view draws beams as coloured bands, as in a paper schematic. The Rays view shows the individual rays, useful for checking focusing and aberrations. With coherent sources and Interference on, the camera in an interferometer shows fringes that move when a mirror moves.

Frequently asked questions

What does LabCanvas Optics simulate?
It traces rays and beams through the parts as you place them: refraction in lenses and prisms, reflection, splitting, diffraction by gratings and slits, filters and absorption, with interference for coherent sources.
Which parts are there?
Over 130: lasers and lamps, lenses and objectives, mirrors, beam splitters, prisms, gratings, filters, apertures, modulators, detectors such as photodiodes, cameras and spectrometers, fibre couplers, and electronics such as amplifiers, lock-ins and oscilloscopes.
Are there example setups?
Yes: a Michelson and a Mach–Zehnder interferometer, a beam expander, a spatial filter, a prism spectrum, mercury lines on a grating, an epi-fluorescence microscope, polarization optics, fibre coupling, frequency doubling, galvo scanning and a double slit.
How do I put the setup in my paper?
Click Add setup to canvas. It becomes an editable vector drawing in the figure, slide or poster open in another tab, or in a new figure.
Is there a 3D view?
Yes. Switch to 3D to see the setup on the table in perspective.
optical setup diagramray tracingoptics simulationlaser setupinterferometerphysics illustration

Try it in LabCanvas

Every app is free to start in your browser. Create an account and begin.

Open Optics