Anastigmatic Anamorphic Lens High Compression Ratio
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current anamorphic lens designs struggle to achieve high compression or stretching ratios beyond 2:1 and fail to effectively correct aberrations and astigmatism for spatially resolved spectroscopy applications, which require significant imaging scale differences in two dimensions.
Innovation Solution
The anastigmatic anamorphic lens is designed with a three-part arrangement, incorporating plane-parallel surfaces with high refractive power, rotationally symmetrical basic systems, and aspherical cylindrical lenses to achieve compression ratios up to 8:1, with object-side and image-side apertures, telecentricity, and extensive achromasia across a wide wavelength range, while correcting spherical and chromatic aberrations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional anamorphic lens designs are used, then basic image processing is achieved, but compression or stretching ratios are limited to 1.3:1 to 2:1 and cannot be significantly exceeded
Solution Approach 1:
The anamorphic lens system is divided into three independent subsystems: a first rotationally symmetrical lens system, a middle cylindrical lens system, and a second rotationally symmetrical lens system. Each subsystem can be designed and optimized independently, allowing the overall system to achieve high compression ratios (up to 8:1) without proportionally increasing overall complexity. The segmentation enables modular design where each part contributes specifically to either beam expansion, astigmatism correction, or image formation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces asymmetry by using cylindrical lenses with different refractive powers in orthogonal directions within the middle subsystem. This asymmetric design allows differential beam expansion in horizontal versus vertical directions, enabling compression ratios beyond the 2:1 limit of conventional symmetric anamorphic lenses. The asymmetric cylindrical lens configuration is key to achieving the extended adaptation range while maintaining manageable system complexity.
2Manufacturing precision
If independent correction of cylindrical and rotationally symmetrical units is performed, then design simplicity is maintained, but aberrations and astigmatism cannot be sufficiently corrected
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the correction functions of all three subsystems into a unified optical path where they work cooperatively rather than independently. The first rotationally symmetrical lens system corrects spherical aberrations, the middle cylindrical lens system corrects astigmatism through its anamorphic elements, and the second rotationally symmetrical lens system provides final image formation with additional aberration correction. This merging of correction functions across subsystems enables superior overall aberration and astigmatism correction compared to independent correction approaches.
3Adaptability or versatility
If high compression ratios are achieved, then imaging scale differences are sufficient, but astigmatism and spherical aberrations increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by assigning specific correction functions to specific subsystems based on their optical characteristics. The first rotationally symmetrical lens system is optimized for spherical aberration correction at the object side, the middle cylindrical lens system is optimized for astigmatism correction through its anamorphic elements, and the second rotationally symmetrical lens system is optimized for final image quality and residual aberration correction. This localized optimization of correction functions in different parts of the system enables high compression ratios while maintaining low overall aberration levels.
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 design achieves high image-side apertures, well-corrected astigmatism, and telecentricity in both azimuths, enabling efficient imaging of multi-dimensional spectral images with improved aberration correction and expanded beam expansion capabilities.
Implementation Method 1
The basic arrangement consists of an upstream anamorphic lens with two cylindrical cement elements with high refractive power in the horizontal direction and a spherical projection lens in the middle
Implementation Method 2
The anastigmatic anamorphic lens is designed with a three-part arrangement, incorporating plane-parallel surfaces with high refractive power, rotationally symmetrical basic systems, and aspherical cylindrical lenses to achieve compression ratios up to 8:1, with object-side and image-side apertures, telecentricity, and extensive achromasia across a wide wavelength range
Data Source
Figure 1a~2c
Figure 3~4
Figure 5
AI summary
The invention relates to an anastigmatic anamorphic lens system for processing images, particularly multidimensional images generated and evaluated in connection with spatially resolved spectroscopy, for example. Said lens system has a high anamorphic factor and comprises several lens subassemblies. A positive refractive subassembly (a) encompassing at least one rotationally symmetrical lens (1, 2) or lens group is disposed at the object end in order to reduce the angle of field. A central optical subassembly (b) is disposed behind the positive refractive subassembly (a) in the beam path in order to expand the beam in one or more directions extending perpendicular to the optical axis while maintaining small angles of field. The central optical subassembly (b) encompasses at least one anamorphically distorting element (3) and one or more rotationally symmetrical lenses (4, 5, 6) or lens groups. An additional optical subassembly (c) is arranged at the image end in order to constrict and enlarge the aperture in the axes in which the beam is expanded. Said additional optical subassembly (c) located at the image end alternately encompasses at least one anamorphically distorting element (9, 12) and at least one rotationally symmetrical lens (7, 8, 10, 11) or lens group.