Material selection is an important part of the optical design workflow. To facilitate this process, the Granta Material Picker tool enables comprehensive searching, filtering, data inspection and visualization, as well as catalog download capabilities for designers using OpticStudio. This article introduces the Granta Material Picker tool in Ansys Zemax OpticStudio, and demonstrates how it streamlines informed material selection, opening the door towards integrated multiphysics simulation.
Authored By Csilla Timar-Fulep
Introduction to the Granta Material Picker tool
The Ansys Granta portfolio offers comprehensive material data resources, including extensive libraries with property data for a wide range of materials, together with industry-leading material information management and intelligent selection solutions. Leveraging these capabilities empowers users to optimize material data, drive innovation, and ensure regulatory compliance across various engineering workflows. To streamline multiphysics design and enhance simulation accuracy and efficiency, Granta is integrated with various Ansys simulation tools, allowing engineers to access, manage and apply material properties directly within their simulation workflows, thereby reducing risks, cost, and time-to-market for innovative solutions.
Ansys Login
The Granta Material Picker is available in all editions of OpticStudio starting from 2026 R1, under the Libraries tab, Optical Materials section. To access the tool, users need to log in with their Ansys ID to confirm their identity, or create an Ansys account. Once logged in, designers can start using the material analysis and selection solutions of the tool.
Optics Design Database
The Optics Design Data library offers access to an extensive vendor-provided material database specifically collected for optical design purposes. Material data within this database includes key optical features such as, refractive index, internal transmittance, as well as dispersion as a function of wavelength and temperature, supplemented with thermal, physical, mechanical, and chemical properties. All default materials that are shipped with the OpticStudio installation are also available in the Optics Design Data collection in the Granta interface.
Analyzing materials for optical design
The Granta Material Picker pane greatly extends the material searching and filtering capabilities of OpticStudio. Users can parse one or multiple selected, or even all glass catalogs at the same time, where catalogs can also be filtered by their names. Once the desired catalogs are picked, engineers can proceed to explore materials inside.
Searching for known materials
In cases when the designers have a specific material in mind for the lenses inside the optical system, and would like to confirm its main properties, they can directly search for the given glass by its name. All partial and full matches for the Material name text input are listed, available for selection, further analysis and data review based on the Datasheet as discussed below.
Identifying new materials through filtering
Besides, if users would like to seek after new material candidates for the optical design, they can filter materials by the relevant optical, chemical, thermal, physical, and mechanical properties. For example, one can filter by refractive index and Abbe number to identify potential glasses for achromatic designs. Similarly, users can filter by index and Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE) to look for low-expansion materials in the visible range. Furthermore, once the options are narrowed down by filtering, designers can also sort the materials in the List view by the most important parameter. As a next step, users can inspect the selected materials based on the Datasheet.
Inspecting Material Datasheets
Once a specific glass has been selected, designers can go ahead and review its properties in the Datasheet. All details that are available in the Materials Catalog tool inside OpticStudio are also accessible in the Granta Material Picker pane, organized into clear categories under General, Optical, Thermal, Physical, Mechanical, Chemical properties, and Other data to facilitate data inspection. Moreover, the Glass Map of the catalog can be visualized in Granta, as well as the Refractive index vs. wavelength, Dispersion vs. wavelength, and Internal transmission vs. wavelength curves.
Creating New Material Catalogs
Fetching Materials Data
Finally, when designers have settled on the glass or glasses of interest, material data for the selected items can be fetched and saved into AGF files for further usage in OpticStudio. Materials can be selected based on custom filter results from multiple catalogs, in any order, which allows engineers to easily tailor and create new catalogs that best fit the design requirements. In order to retrieve the data, users need to highlight the materials of interest, then right-click and select the Fetch material data option, which initiates download process. The newly generated AGF files can be saved with custom names, and their default location aligns with the Project Directory settings of the optical model. Further details about the file format are discussed in this knowledgebase article:
Zemax AGF material catalog file format
Using New Material Catalogs in OpticStudio
Besides being saved for reference and further access, the new Granta catalogs are also automatically loaded into the Catalogs To Use selection under the Material Catalogs in the System Explorer inside the active OpticStudio design to facilitate a smooth workflow with the selected materials. As the file format is exactly the same as for all AGF glass files used in OpticStudio, the new Granta generated catalogs can also be reviewed and examined using the built-in Materials Catalog, Materials Analyses, and Materials Tools features. Moreover, these new Granta catalogs can similarly serve the basis for Glass Substitutions, allowing designers to effectively generate relevant reference data for material optimization. Further references about inspecting materials and optimizing them via Glass Substitution can be found in these articles:
How to add new materials and glasses in OpticStudio
How to use glass substitution to optimize the glasses in your optical design
Conclusion
Ansys Granta Materials Data is a vital resource for engineers looking to improve the accuracy and reliability of their simulations. With its extensive library of materials and seamless integration into Ansys tools, it supports informed decision-making in material selection and product design.