LightTools V2026.03: Illumination Design & Optical Simulation Software

LightTools 2026.03 is Keysight Technologies’ latest release for 3D optical engineering and illumination design. The software has transitioned from Synopsys to Keysight, with this version retaining the version numbering convention of the previous owner but shipping under the Keysight brand . This release focuses on eliminating simulation bottlenecks and supporting next-generation applications .

Key New Features in V2026.03

GPU-Accelerated Forward Ray Tracing

Significant performance upgrade with 10× to over 50× speed gains depending on model complexity and hardware . Supports point and surface sources, multiple receiver meshes, volume scattering models (Gegenbauer, Henyey-Greenstein), measured BSDF, Microfacet scatter models, and optical cementing . Enables high-fidelity simulations with hundreds of millions of rays much earlier in the design iteration process .

VisionSym Integration for Interactive Backward Ray Tracing

New integration with VisionSym, Keysight’s GPU-accelerated backward ray tracing engine, delivers 10× to 30× faster rendering compared to traditional methods . Features progressive image refinement, automatic aiming for scatter surfaces, specialized algorithms for reduced pixel noise, and support for Environment Sources .

Enhanced Stray Light Analysis

New tools for more repeatable and memory-efficient stray light workflows :

  • Import/export ray path files for reproducibility

  • Limit rays per path to reduce memory usage

  • Group multiple physical surfaces as a single ray path contributor

  • Streamlined post-processing via Ray Path Analyzer utility and Compute Filtered Mesh Data option

AR Waveguide Designer Improvements

Enhanced handling of AR/VR system design spaces :

  • Automated setup for Input Couplers (IC), Eye Pupil Expanders (EPE), and Output Couplers (OC)

  • K-space diagram visualization

  • Support for geometric mirror-based, Surface Relief Gratings (SRG), and Volume Bragg Gratings (VBG)

  • Seamless integration with RSoft UDOP data for spatially varying gratings

  • Built-in tools for uniformity, eyebox analysis, and stray light identification

Meta-Optic Lens (Metalens) Modeling

System-level simulation of metalenses using extended BSDF models to capture rigorous electromagnetic meta-optic behavior . Supports wavelength- and polarization-dependent behavior, enabling meta-lenses to be analyzed alongside conventional optics in a unified ray-based workflow .