Optical computing for application to reducing the thickness of high-power-composite lenses.

Abstract

With the adoption of polycarbonate lens material for injection molding of greater accuracy and at lower costs, polycarbonate has become very suitable for mass production of more economical products, such as diving goggles. However, with increasing requirements for visual quality improvement, lenses need to have not only refractive function but also thickness and spherical aberration, which are gradually being taken more seriously. For a high-power-composite lens, meanwhile, the thickness cannot be substantially reduced, and there is also the issue of severe spherical aberration at the lens edges. In order to increase the added value of the product without changing the material, the present research applied the eye model and Taguchi experiment method, combined with design optimization for hyperbolic-aspherical lens, to significantly reduce the lens thickness by more than 30%, outperforming the average thickness reduction in general aspherical lens. The spherical aberration at the lens edges was also reduced effectively during the optimization process for the nonspherical lens. Prototypes made by super-finishing machines were among the results of the experiment. This new application can be used in making a large amount of injection molds to substantially increase the economic value of the product.