Abstract

Optical design may be thought of as an exercise in the solution of sets of simultaneous, nonlinear, algebraic equations with prescribed boundary conditions. Several methods for solving such sets of equations are discussed, and numerical examples are given for some of them. These methods are believed suitable for use with automatic computing machinery.

In the optical problem there are usually many more equations than variables, so that an exact solution is seldom possible. If, however, the quality of a system is specified by a merit function φ, then a set of parameters which make φ a minimum can be interpreted as a solution of the equations.

© 1957 Optical Society of America

Automatic Lens Design by the Least Squares Method

Joseph Meiron
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 49(3) 293-298 (1959)

Automatic Lens Design with a High-Speed Computer*

Donald P. Feder
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 52(2) 177-183 (1962)

Damped Least-Squares Method for Automatic Lens Design

Joseph Meiron
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 55(9) 1105-1109 (1965)

Parabolic Approximation Method for Automatic Lens Design

J. Meiron and G. Volinez
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 50(3) 207-211 (1960)

Calculation of an Optical Merit Function and Its Derivatives with Respect to the System Parameters*

Donald P. Feder
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 47(10) 913-925 (1957)