Freeform optics presents unique challenges to designers and manufacturers. Understanding a vendor’s manufacturing and metrology capabilities is critical to designing and tolerancing a freeform surface that uses its physical features to aid in integration.

The adoption of freeform optics by designers and manufacturers has increased in recent years. With the increase of flexibility, a freeform surface can bring a system, it also brings more sensitivities. To effectively control these sensitivities during integration, the tolerancing needs to incorporate the limits of the metrology device for the tolerance operand under test. Understanding a vendor’s manufacturing and metrology capabilities is critical to... 

Read the Full Paper

This paper is posted on the SPIE Digital Library, clicking the button will direct you there.