Abstract

In the early stages of optical design, the consideration of low-order imaging properties significantly simplifies the identification of promising configurations. This process is investigated here for plane-symmetric systems composed of two off-axis sections of conic mirrors. In particular, constraints are derived that ensure sharp imagery through second order for such systems. For completeness, a number of special cases must be treated. In the cases that admit of realizable solutions, the requirement of sharp imagery through second order reduces the dimensionality of the resulting configuration spaces from thirteen to between four and six.

© 1994 Optical Society of America

Illustration of second-order design methods: global merit function plots for a class of projection systems

Bryan D. Stone and G. W. Forbes
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 11(12) 3308-3321 (1994)

Foundations of second-order layout for asymmetric systems

Bryan D. Stone and G. W. Forbes
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 9(11) 2067-2082 (1992)

First-order layout of asymmetric systems: sharp imagery of a single plane object

Bryan D. Stone and G. W. Forbes
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 9(5) 832-843 (1992)

Forms of the characteristic function for asymmetric systems that form sharp images to first order

Bryan D. Stone and G. W. Forbes
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 9(5) 820-831 (1992)

First-order layout of asymmetric systems composed of three spherical mirrors

Bryan D. Stone and G. W. Forbes
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 9(1) 110-120 (1992)