Finding the optimal starting configuration in optical design, when image plane location is a design parameter, using a diapoint-based error function.

摘要

Typical error functions used in optical design (imaging applications) exhibit non-linear landscapes (with reference to the design parameters) with multiple minima. This makes optimization a challenging problem. Global search optimization algorithms could address such situations, but still local search ones are, in many cases, more convenient to avoid excessive computational cost. Local search algorithms highly depend on a suitable selection of the starting system configuration. In this work, a diapoint-based optical metric (without reference to the paraxial focus) is proposed to find the optimal starting point, in rotationally symmetric optical systems. The potentials of the idea are shown by means of simulations carried out in a cemented achromatic doublet that includes image plane location as a design parameter.