Three surface freeform aplanatic systems

Opt Express. 2017 May 15;25(10):10710-10715. doi: 10.1364/OE.25.010710.

Abstract

We address, in detail, the system of differential equations determining a freeform aplanatic system with illustrative examples. We also demonstrate how two optical surfaces, in general, are insufficient in achieving freeform aplanatism through the use of integrability condition for a given reflective freeform aplanatic configuration. This result also alludes to the fact that a freeform aplanatic system fulfills a broader set of conditions than its rotationally symmetric counterpart. We also elaborate on the above results with two illustrative examples (1) A semi aplanatic system which satisfies the generalized sine condition in only one direction and (2) A fully freeform aplanatic reflective system.