Optical System Design

Abstract

The design of imaging optical systems is an engineering discipline which has been practiced and written about for many years. In many ways, optical design is both a science and an art, and for this reason it is a technology that can cause problems if it is not done properly. Furthermore, most books on the subject tend to be complex and difficult to follow and to understand. With this book, we hope to bring the understanding of our discipline to everyone. We are all aware of cameras, binoculars, and other optical systems and instruments. In the past several years, the field of optics and photonics has seen a tremendous surge in both technology and in applications. This is fueled by a closer association with electronics in devices such as digital cameras, enhanced machine vision systems, MEMS and microoptical systems for telecommunications and other related applications, many of which have yet to be invented. With this surge in the applications of optics, the educational process of training experienced optical designers and engineers becomes extremely important if not critical. We realize that it is difficult to be an expert in everything. We also realize that in addition to optical design which is the core of the book, important topics including optical manufacturing, polarization, and optical coatings are important subjects that need to be covered in this book, and the first edition included these topics. With this new second edition, other critical technologies including optomechanical design, systems modeling and analysis, and stray light suppression are now included. Further, completely revised chapters on diffractive optics and polarization are also included. We are honored to have contributed chapters written by experts in their fields: Paul Yoder on optomechanical design, Rick Plympton and Bob Wiederhold on optical manufacturing, Steve McClain and Tom Baur on polarization in optical systems, Ranko Galeb on thin films and optical coatings, Bernard Kress on diffractive optics, and Alastair J. Grant on systems modeling and analysis, as well as stray light suppression.

The ultimate goal of this book is to teach optical design and engineering in a fully unintimidating way using clear and easy to understand graphics and explanations. Many authors feel an obligation to include complex mathematical derivations. We have taken a very different approach. We will make this book clear and easy to understand with the goal that you will learn the subject matter with a combination of complete graphics, easy to follow explanations, and just enough math to be useful, but not too much math to make the book hard to follow or difficult to understand. This book Optical System Design is largely based on the firm foundation of the short course by the same title taught by Bob Fischer to over thousands of students over the past 20 years. The course has been honed, polished, and expanded over the years. It is available on CD ROM and videotape, and finally, via this book. Typical comments have been: