Abstract
In this study, a configuration of a compact imaging objective based on a reflecting annular harmonic lens was proposed. Light propagation through the proposed optical system was comprehensively modeled using a dedicated special program and the ZEMAX software, with the latter used to derive the point spread function (PSF). Several relationships were used to describe the connection between key parameters of the objective, including its focal length, field of view, and thickness. We demonstrated that it was possible to design a compact imaging objective whose overall length could be one to two orders of magnitude smaller than its focal length. Using direct laser writing, a reflecting annular harmonic lens was fabricated and used in the proposed objective scheme. The performance of the objective was experimentally studied by imaging a light source and a test pattern. The performance of the compact imaging objective based on a reflecting annular harmonic lens was verified in principle. A PSF value of approximately 16 microns was experimentally obtained, for a lens with a diameter of 25 mm with a focal length of 100 mm.
Highlights
The minimization of imaging systems has been a recent trend, with increasingly compact devices emerging that allow high-quality imaging
The mentioned objective is a product of a lengthy evolution, during the course of which its mass and size have reached a minimization limit, making further reduction in size based on classical optical components impossible. This leaves the question, “What are we expected to do if the objective size needs to be comparable with or slightly larger than the size of a sensing array, for instance, if we plan to send a space-borne computer vision system on a mission to Alpha Centauri [1] or mount it on a microdrone?”
As a further development of the said design, we have proposed an imaging system composed of two mirrors and a long focus reflecting annular harmonic lens that has a longitudinal size of several millimeters
Summary
The minimization of imaging systems has been a recent trend, with increasingly compact devices emerging that allow high-quality imaging. In one class of imaging systems, miniaturization is restricted by laws of optics, such as in remote surveillance systems that use long focus objectives. The mentioned objective is a product of a lengthy evolution, during the course of which its mass and size have reached a minimization limit, making further reduction in size based on classical optical components impossible. As a further development of the said design, we have proposed an imaging system composed of two mirrors and a long focus reflecting annular harmonic lens that has a longitudinal size of several millimeters. We conducted several experiments with the laboratory layout of the proposed design
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