This course will provide attendees with a basic working knowledge of optical design and associated engineering. The information in this course will help novice and experienced designers, as well as people who interact with optical designers and engineers, sufficiently understand these problems and solutions to minimize cost and risk. The course includes background information for optical design and an array of pragmatic considerations such as optical system specification, analysis of optical systems, material selection, use of catalog systems and components, ultraviolet through infrared system considerations, environmental factors and solutions, Gaussian beam optics, and production considerations such as optical testing and alignment. The course includes practical and useful examples emphasizing rigorous optical design and engineering with an emphasis on designing for manufacture. Even if you have never used an optical design program before, you will become fluent with how to estimate, assess, execute, and manage the design of optical systems for many varied applications. This course is a continuation of the long-running Practical Optical Systems Design course established and taught by Robert E. Fischer.

The use of aspheric surfaces has increased significantly in recent years. In 2008 there were over 100 million digital cameras produced - nearly all of which used several aspheric surfaces. It is clear that the use of precision aspheric surfaces in consumer as well as in industrial and government systems will continue to increase at a rapid pace in future years. There are many other applications where aspheres are critical such as in astronomical telescopes and these will be discussed as well. Many of these systems use conic sections rather than polynomial based aspheres. Both types will be covered. This short course will provide attendees with a working knowledge of how to best incorporate aspheric surfaces in your designs in order to achieve performance levels which were simply unachievable using conventional all-spherical surfaces. It will also cover the critical topic of tolerancing and assuring that your designs are realistic and manufacturable. Furthermore, the testing of aspheres is critical and will be discussed along with how to write specifications and lens component prints for aspheric elements. Asphere manufacturing methods will also be discussed and compared. These include deterministic microgrinding, compression molding of glass aspheres, single point diamond turning and magnetorheological finishing (MRF). Design examples using aspheric surfaces will be presented and adequate time will be allocated to answer questions.

This course provides the background and principles necessary to understand how optical imaging systems function, and teaches the simple methods and techniques with which you can lay out a system which will satisfy the performance requirements of your application. Optical system imagery can readily be calculated using the cardinal points of Gauss, or by simple ray tracing. These principles can be extended to specific equations for the layout and analysis of multi-component systems. System performance limits due to diffraction, human vision, sensor characteristics and radiometric throughput should be taken into account. This course provides simple methods of arriving at, and understanding, the first-order layout by a process which determines the component powers and locations for an optical system. This process will produce an image of the right size, in the right location and with the right orientation. The course will emphasize practical applications, not abstract theory.

This course will provide attendees with a broad and useful understanding of aspheric surfaces and components. Aspheric or non-spherical surfaces in a lens or mirror system can bring significant benefits to the optical performance. This is not without the liabilities of added cost, delivery time, and even producibility. The course will begin with lens design, and specifically how and when to incorporate aspherics into a variety of lens design forms. We discuss what aspherics will do for a design, and also what they will not do. We then will discuss how aspheric surfaces are manufactured along with recommendations on how to specify aspherics. Several methods for predicting performance for systems with asphere induced wavefront irregularities will be shown. We also will discuss the testing of aspherics.

This course provides attendees with the background, theory, and practical knowledge to understand the design and engineering of optics for head-mounted display applications.

This course provides the background and principles necessary to understand how optical imaging systems function, and teaches the simple methods and techniques with which you can lay out a system which will satisfy the performance requirements of your application. Optical system imagery can readily be calculated using the Gaussian cardinal points or by paraxial ray tracing. These principles are extended to the layout and analysis of multi-component systems. This course includes topics such as imaging with thin lenses and systems of thin lenses, stops and pupils, afocal systems, and radiative transfer. Numerous examples of optical systems are described. This course provides simple methods of arriving at, and understanding, the first-order layout of an optical system by a process which determines the required components and their locations. This process will produce an image of the right size and in the right location. A special emphasis is placed on the practical aspects of the design of optical systems.

This course provides attendees with a working knowledge of optical lens design. The course concentrates on optical system configurations and performance optimization and analysis. Practical examples are included throughout. Visible, infrared, and UV optics are discussed. The course addresses related areas which are critical to the design task including performance modeling, the basics of optical manufacturing, tolerancing, testing, and more. A special section on the design of optical systems for astronomical telescopes is included which will include configuration tradeoffs, performance comparison, field correctors, manufacturing and alignment issues, and more.