GOAT (Geometrical optics application tool) 0.1
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GOAT – Geometrical Optics Application Tool

GOAT is a modular, scene-based C++ library for flexible simulation of electric fields and intensity distributions using geometrical optics, including explicit phase calculation for the simulation of interference phenomena.

Why GOAT?

In optical modeling, each new problem often requires starting from scratch. GOAT solves this by providing a reusable, extensible library designed for a wide range of optical tasks. Its architecture is scene-based and modular, allowing you to combine and extend components as needed.

Key Features

  • Abstract, extensible ray tracer:
    Easily adapt the ray tracing engine to your problem.
  • Scene architecture:
    Define a simulation by specifying light sources and objects in a scene.
  • Flexible interfaces:
    Extend base classes for your own object and light source types.
  • Ready-made sources and shapes:
    Gaussian beams, top-hat sources, ellipsoids, and import of binary STL shapes.
  • Efficient 3D math classes:
    Matrix and Vector templates for mathematical operations (in /maths).
  • Parallel processing for large STL files:
    The goat_raytracing_mp.lib library offers OpenMP support to accelerate the loading and processing of large STL files.

Library Structure

  • goat_maths.lib:
    Mathematical basics: 3D vector and matrix classes with operators.
  • goat_raytracing.lib:
    Ray tracing engine, light sources, object representations.
  • goat_raytracing_mp.lib:
    Same as goat_raytracing.lib, but with OpenMP parallelization for efficient loading and handling of large STL geometries.

Documentation

For more information, see README.txt.

Installation

Requirements:

  • CMake (recommended)
  • C++17 compatible compiler (tested: Visual Studio 2019+, GCC)
  • For goat_raytracing_mp.lib: OpenMP support enabled in your compiler.

Build steps:

  1. Open a terminal / console.
  2. Navigate to your GOAT directory.
  3. Run: cmake . (Don’t forget the dot!)

CMake detects your system and generates project files or a Makefile.

  • Windows (VS 2019+): Open the GOAT directory directly with Visual Studio, or use CMake as above.
  • Linux: Run make after cmake.

Libraries will be created in /lib.

XML Support

Scenes and calculation setups can be saved and loaded as XML files.
See XML.md for details.

Citation:
If you use GOAT in your work, please cite:
Thomas Weigel, Gustav Schweiger, and Andreas Ostendorf,
"GOAT: a multipurpose optical simulation tool,"
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 39, 2061-2065 (2022).
https://doi.org/10.1364/JOSAB.457951