Layered polymer GRIN lenses and their benefits to optical designs
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Andrew Boyd
Andrew Boyd received his MSci in Physics from the University of Durham in 2008. Since 2009, he has worked as an optical designer at Qioptiq, St Asaph. His research interests are in a wide range of optical imaging systems, with a particular interest in gradient index optics.
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Michael Ponting
Howard Fein has over 35 years of experience as a working scientist in diverse fields of advanced optics and design, optical and holographic interferometry, nondestructive structural and vibration analysis and applications, digital imaging and machine vision, medical and microscopic imaging, laser development and applications, optical testing, metrology, and radiation measurement. He is an internationally respected authority in holographic-interferometry and author of over 40 technical articles, invited papers, and book chapters in that field. His current work includes new applications employing innovative design of advanced Polymer Nano-Layer Gradient Index optical materials in DOD-related programs supported by DARPA, ONR, NRL, and AFRL. He is an inventor and co-inventor on 26 current patents and over five pending patents and co-patents in LIDAR optics, digital imaging, machine vision, and optical metrology.
Michael Ponting received a PhD from Case Western Reserve University Department of Chemical Engineering in 2010. His current research efforts are focused on developing manufacturing processes for nanolayered polymer technologies including custom polymeric nanolayered gradient refractive index optics lens through PolymerPlus LLC. Additional research interests include polymer processing of micro- and nanolayered polymer systems, polymer structure-property relationships, and nanoscale-induced polymer optical properties.
Abstract
We discuss the findings of a recent optical design study into layered polymeric gradient index lenses (known as L-GRIN). A range of GRIN singlet lenses were designed for various aperture and field-of-view configurations. Their optical performance was compared to polymer diffractive lenses and glass-cemented doublets (both spherical and aspheric) designed to the same specification. We find that diamond-turned polymer GRIN lenses offer comparable performance to achromatic doublets and polymer diffractive hybrid elements over a significant aperture and field-of-view range. We also find that the correction potential of GRIN solutions is substantially increased when the bulk GRIN Abbé value (V10) is negative, the GRIN distribution is radial, or the index range (ΔN) of the GRIN is increased significantly.
About the authors
Andrew Boyd received his MSci in Physics from the University of Durham in 2008. Since 2009, he has worked as an optical designer at Qioptiq, St Asaph. His research interests are in a wide range of optical imaging systems, with a particular interest in gradient index optics.
Howard Fein has over 35 years of experience as a working scientist in diverse fields of advanced optics and design, optical and holographic interferometry, nondestructive structural and vibration analysis and applications, digital imaging and machine vision, medical and microscopic imaging, laser development and applications, optical testing, metrology, and radiation measurement. He is an internationally respected authority in holographic-interferometry and author of over 40 technical articles, invited papers, and book chapters in that field. His current work includes new applications employing innovative design of advanced Polymer Nano-Layer Gradient Index optical materials in DOD-related programs supported by DARPA, ONR, NRL, and AFRL. He is an inventor and co-inventor on 26 current patents and over five pending patents and co-patents in LIDAR optics, digital imaging, machine vision, and optical metrology.
Michael Ponting received a PhD from Case Western Reserve University Department of Chemical Engineering in 2010. His current research efforts are focused on developing manufacturing processes for nanolayered polymer technologies including custom polymeric nanolayered gradient refractive index optics lens through PolymerPlus LLC. Additional research interests include polymer processing of micro- and nanolayered polymer systems, polymer structure-property relationships, and nanoscale-induced polymer optical properties.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge Qioptiq and Polymerplus for permission to publish this work.
Statement of author contributions: Andrew Boyd as primary author wrote this manuscript. He also generated the optical designs included in this paper. Michael Ponting and Howard Fein provided the required refractive index data with which the said optical designs were completed. They also provided information on the L-GRIN process and its limitations.
References
[1] M. Ponting, A. Hiltner, E. Baer, Macromol. Symp. 294, 19–32 (2010).10.1002/masy.201050803Search in Google Scholar
[2] S. Ji, K. Yin, M. Mackey, A. Brister, M. Ponting, et al., Opt. Eng. 52, 112105 (2013).10.1117/1.OE.52.11.112105Search in Google Scholar
[3] F. Bociort, J. Opt. Soc. Am A 13, 1277–1284 (1996).10.1364/JOSAA.13.001277Search in Google Scholar
[4] E. Bajart. Abbé diagram, adapted from Wikimedia commons.Search in Google Scholar
[5] A. J. Visconti, J. A. Corsetti, K. Fang, P. McCarthy, G. R. Schmidt, et al., Opt. Eng. 52, 112102 (2013).10.1117/1.OE.52.11.112102Search in Google Scholar
©2015 THOSS Media & De Gruyter
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Articles in the same Issue
- Cover and Frontmatter
- Views
- 3Dsensation: optical technologies are the key for future man-machine interaction
- Community
- EOS NEWS: Coherence for Europe – Uniting Industry with Academia
- Conference Notes
- Conference Calendar
- Topical Issue: Standards in Optics and Optical Measurement
- Editorial
- Introduction to the special issue on ‘Standards in Optics and Optical Measurement’
- Tutorial
- Standardization of light scattering measurements
- Review Articles
- Optical glass: standards – present state and outlook
- Selecting laser eye protectors – a helping hand
- Research Article
- From plane to spatial angles: PTB’s spatial angle autocollimator calibrator
- Tutorial
- Practical tutorial: A simple strategy to start a pinhole lens design
- Research Article
- Layered polymer GRIN lenses and their benefits to optical designs
