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Article

Geometry Selection in Three-Mirror Freeform Imagers with an Accessible Exit Pupil

The Institute of Optics, University of Rochester, 480 Intercampus Drive, Rochester, NY 14627, USA
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Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sensors 2024, 24(15), 4816; https://doi.org/10.3390/s24154816
Submission received: 21 June 2024 / Revised: 16 July 2024 / Accepted: 22 July 2024 / Published: 24 July 2024
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Optics and Sensing Technologies for Telescopes)

Abstract

Reimaging telescopes have an accessible exit pupil that facilitates stray light mitigation and matching to auxiliary optical systems. Freeform surfaces present the opportunity for unobscured reflective systems to be folded into geometries that are otherwise impracticable with conventional surface types. It is critical, however, to understand the limitations of the enabled folding geometries and choose the one that best balances the optical performance and mechanical requirements. Here, we used the aberration theory of freeform surfaces to determine the aberration correction potential for using freeform surfaces in reimaging three-mirror telescopes and established a hierarchy for the different folding geometries without using optimization. We found that when using freeform optics, the ideal folding geometry had 9× better wavefront performance compared to the next best geometry. Within that ideal geometry, the system using freeform optics had 39% better wavefront performance compared to a system using off-axis asphere surfaces, thus quantifying one of the advantages of freeform optics in this design space.
Keywords: freeform; three mirror anastigmat; reimaging freeform; three mirror anastigmat; reimaging

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Bauer, A.; Schiesser, E.M.; Rolland, J.P. Geometry Selection in Three-Mirror Freeform Imagers with an Accessible Exit Pupil. Sensors 2024, 24, 4816. https://doi.org/10.3390/s24154816

AMA Style

Bauer A, Schiesser EM, Rolland JP. Geometry Selection in Three-Mirror Freeform Imagers with an Accessible Exit Pupil. Sensors. 2024; 24(15):4816. https://doi.org/10.3390/s24154816

Chicago/Turabian Style

Bauer, Aaron, Eric M. Schiesser, and Jannick P. Rolland. 2024. "Geometry Selection in Three-Mirror Freeform Imagers with an Accessible Exit Pupil" Sensors 24, no. 15: 4816. https://doi.org/10.3390/s24154816

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