Adaptive Optical System for Dynamic Aberration Correction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wide-field optical systems for video imaging applications face challenges in achieving perfect image restitution due to aberrations, which increase with aperture size or object field dimensions, and existing solutions either require complex systems or fail to correct aberrations across the entire field.
Innovation Solution
An optical system comprising a deformable adaptive element, such as a deformable active surface, that can modify the optical wavefront to correct geometric aberrations by dividing the image into zones and applying specific deformation laws to each zone, allowing for almost instantaneous correction of aberrations, thereby reconstructing a perfect image.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If complex optical systems with multiple optical elements are used to correct aberrations, then image quality is improved, but device complexity, cost, mass and size increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the optical field into multiple discrete zones and assigns a specific deformable surface configuration to each zone. This segmentation allows the system to correct aberrations zone-by-zone using a single adaptive element rather than requiring multiple static optical components, thereby reducing system complexity while maintaining image quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a deformable optical surface that can dynamically change its shape or optical properties in real-time. This dynamic adaptability allows a single element to perform the function of multiple static elements, correcting different types of aberrations for different zones without increasing physical system complexity.
2Device complexity
If aspherical or free-form diopters are used to reduce the number of optical elements, then device complexity is reduced, but aberrations cannot be perfectly corrected across the entire field
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a deformable optical surface that can dynamically adjust its configuration to provide optimal aberration correction for different zones of the optical field. This dynamic capability allows a single element to achieve what would otherwise require multiple fixed aspherical elements, maintaining low device complexity while achieving complete field coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the optical parameters of the deformable surface (such as surface curvature or refractive index distribution) depending on the zone being observed. By adapting the surface parameters to match the specific aberration characteristics of each zone, the system achieves comprehensive correction across the entire field without needing multiple elements.
3Illumination intensity
If the aperture of the optical system is increased to improve light gathering, then image brightness is improved, but optical aberrations increase strongly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the optical parameters of the deformable surface specifically to compensate for aberrations introduced by large aperture operation. By adjusting the surface configuration, the system maintains the benefits of high aperture (bright images) while correcting the resulting aberrations through parameter optimization.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables the correction of geometric aberrations across the entire field, achieving image quality comparable to the diffraction limit without the need for complex systems, making it suitable for applications where cost, size, and complexity are constraints.
Implementation Method 1
An optical system S forms from an object O an image I... an adaptive optical element capable of almost instantaneously modifying an optical wavefront according to a predetermined law
Data Source
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AI summary
The general field of the invention is that of wide-field or wide-angle optical systems. The optical system (S) according to the invention comprises at least one first optical element and one second optical element that is adaptive (SA) comprising at least one active component, that is to say a component capable of modifying an optical wave front quasi-instantaneously according to a predetermined law, said optical device intended to produce an image (I) of a luminous object (O) whose geometric and photometric characteristics are known, the object and the image being at a finite distance or at infinity. The object is decomposed into a plurality of adjacent zones (Zi) and the active component is arranged in such a way that to each zone of the object there corresponds at least one predetermined law (Li) for modifying the wave front received by the active component so that the geometric aberrations of the optical system for said zone of the object are minimized.