Max J. Riedl – författare

The author has expanded the information found in his practical 1995 tutorial. Achromats are covered in more detail, with an updated discussion of beam expanders. Ball lens, gradient optics, and three mirror configurations have been added to the chapter on Special Optical Surfaces and Components. A new section discusses wave aberrations, with a comparison of the spherical aberration to the Seidel coefficient. A new chapter on thermal effects examines the design of athermats-lenses that compensate for undesired results caused by temperature excursions. Also new is an application and summary chapter, Design Examples. As diamond turning is especially suitable for producing aspheres and diffractive infrared elements, a chapter has been added describing this method of manufacture.

This text is written for engineers and scientists who have some experience in the field of optics and want to know more about the details and derivations of equations used in optical design. Organized by topic, the book begins with the fundamental law of geometrical optics, Snell's law of refraction, and states the paraxial ray trace equations, then moves on to thin lenses and increasingly more sophisticated components and multi-element systems. Each topic is covered in depth and provides comprehensive information on performance and limitations. While the text is based on general optical laws, special emphasis has been placed on the two major infrared regions - the mid-wave (MWIR) and the long-wave (LWIR). This is particularly important with regard to diffractive hybrids, which have found their place in these long wavelength areas for the correction of chromatic aberrations and athermalization. Comments relating to single-point diamond turning have also been included because this process is predominantly used to produce optical elements for the infrared regions.