Anywhere Light Goes™ Blog
A blog about optical design, build, test and more.
Shining Light on Metalenses
There have been many transformative changes in technology that have revolutionized our world. For example, the transition of discrete electronic components (transistors, capacitor, inductor, …) to monolithic integrated circuits (ICs) has enabled advanced and complex electronics to be produced cost-effectively. Such a transition has created incredible advancements in consumer electronics and arguably is the enabler of current cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI). In contrast, optical design and imaging systems have effectively remained the same since the 1900s with the only major advancement being the introduction of raytracing programs with computers in the 1960s. Existing materials and design methodologies seem to limit any revolution in optics. There is a limit to the variation of potential glasses (meaning a combination...
Camera MTF Calculator
Camera MTF Calculator Camera MTF For fine adjustments of parameters, click a slider and use the arrow keys on your keyboard for best accuracy. Understanding This Tool The Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) is commonly employed as an objective characterization of image quality. It is typically analyzed as a one-dimensional function of image contrast (resolution) versus spatial frequency (feature size). Any device that relays, records, displays, or otherwise operates on an image has its own MTF curve describing the fidelity of that process. When concatenating incoherent imaging systems together, the product of their MTF curves describes the image quality of the entire system. Beware that there are scenarios where this multiplication is not valid—read more about MTF multiplication here. Cameras are...
A Tale of Three Lenses: How Alignment Turning Creates Accurate Imaging Systems for Less
I’ve spent a good deal of my nearly 20-year career here at Optikos working on high performance imaging projects. I’ve hammered out designs with our mechanical engineers exploring the trade space between the stiffness we’d like and the compliance we need. We’ve modeled the optical and mechanical tolerances on massive computer monitors with infinite zoom and all the best intentions. Parts are procured from reliable vendors and inspected and tested extensively, and finally, the day comes to put that all behind us and just build the first one. I gown up and head into the clean room where I spend a surprising amount of time aligning the lens barrel on the center station. Then, I start stacking lenses, turning tiny...
What’s Cooler Than Being Cool? Testing to -40°
At Optikos, we take our customer considerations stone cold serious – especially in our IQ Lab™ testing services. Every IQ Lab™ testing project starts with a discussion between the customer and our IQ Lab engineering team to ensure that we fully understand the details of their optical system to be tested and the reasons why they contacted us for metrology help. In most cases, our standard laboratory test setups are capable of performing the testing that the customer needs. However, these initial conversations sometimes lead to the development of a new testing capability if it becomes clear to us that customers in a particular industry have a testing need that can’t be met with our standard equipment. A good example of this...
Why Doesn’t My Calculated EFL Match My Test Results?
A key part of validating optical hardware is reconciling differences between design simulations and hardware test results. Understanding the subtleties of how simulation and test results are produced, and why differences may exist, can avoid potential frustrations and delays in the hardware testing process. Many optical parameters such as effective focal length (EFL), distortion, and field curvature, can be simulated in a lens design by tracing the chief ray through the system and evaluating its location in the image plane. When measuring real optical systems, measuring these parameters requires evaluating a focused spot in the image plane. That spot is formed by a ray bundle that fills the system’s pupil. It is often impractical, or impossible, to restrict the optical...
