Eigenray

nounStandard termPhotonics

A specific ray path that connects a defined source point to a specific receiver.

An eigenray is a calculated ray path that successfully connects a specific light source to a specific target or detector, satisfying all boundary conditions of the optical system. In computational ray tracing, finding eigenrays is necessary to determine exact travel times, phase delays, and amplitudes reaching a sensor through complex or inhomogeneous media.

Heard on the job

Run the ray tracing solver and filter the output to show only the eigenrays hitting the detector array.