Field lenses are a basic element in optical design, to understand their role in an optical system it’s important first to understand the definitions of Field-of-View (FOV). Generally speaking, FOV is the maximum size of an object that an optical system can create an...
In a previous article we talked about Aviation Light Optics. and discussed a runway light system called Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI). Now we would like to go more in detail into PAPI design and describe their design requirements. The PAPI system...
Complex Optical Components from Fluids. Researchers from the Israel Institute of Technology have developed a new technique to fabricate free-form optics by curing a liquid polymer. Traditionally, free-form optics are fabricated using complex CNC equipment that...
In the last month, I have had the need to travel several times by airplane. So, after several hours enjoying $15 sodas, and $30 hamburgers at the airport gates, I started paying more attention to the different illumination systems that are being used in the aviation...
Optical collimators also called non-imaging concentrators are optical components that can collect and project light from a source. Common examples include solar collectors that concentrate the sun's light and project it to heat a surface or direct it to solar panels....
This will be the last entry in our series of optical instrumentation for optometry. If this is the first article that you are seeing, I would suggest that you take a look at our previous articles about Ophthalmoscope Design, Keratometer Design, and Retinoscopy. This...
Retinoscopes are a very common optical instrument used by optometrists to examine a patient’s eye and evaluate the need of corrective lenses. They use a very interesting physical principle. Let’s first describe the optical instrument. The retinoscope is a hand held...
In this article, we will continue our description of different optical instruments used by optometrists. Last time we talked about Ophthalmoscopes, today we will talk about another very common optical instrument called the Keratometer. The keratometer was developed...
In the next couple of articles, we will talk about the different instrumentation used by ophthalmologists and optometrists. As you can imagine, there are many restrictions when designing an optical instrument that will be used in a patient. It matters whether the...
This is our last entry on our scanning mirrors series. In this article, we will talk about the use of scanning mirrors when working with welding environments. As you can imagine, not only do the optical requirements differ when compared to those of a scanning...
This is our third installment of a four-series blogs about steering mirrors. We have talked previously about steering mirrors in laser markings and steering mirrors in OCT systems. This week, we will talk about the steering mirror requirements for those in LIDAR...
This week, we will continue our discussion of fast steering mirrors. If you missed our last article, go ahead and read about steering mirrors for laser marking. Here, we will discuss the design requirements for steering mirrors in Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT)....
In the next couple of weeks, we will be talking about the different design requirements and restrictions when working with steering mirrors, also known as scanning mirrors. The objective is to show you that different applications require different solutions, and that...
Introduction In previous entries, we have talked about the design of scanning microscopes, infinity corrected microscopes, confocal microscope design, and Koehler illumination systems-a common illumination system in microscopes. The most essential microscope element...
Endoscopes are medical devices designed to collect the smallest images from inside the human body. Endoscopes can be divided into two categories: rigid endoscopes, in which relay lenses are stacked together generally creating a high-quality image, and flexible...
When I was a young undergrad engineering student, I always found optics to be a very confusing subject. It was not only the equations, but what it looked like hundreds of different definitions involved in even the simplest of optical systems. Some concepts, like...
Previous posts have reviewed different techniques for beam homogenization as well as the difference between spot size and beam angle. This post will review a method for beam shaping using Powell Lenses. Powell lenses are lenses that create a straight laser line by...
The choice of glass is a fundamental part in the optical design process. This is especially true for IR and thermal optics materials. In this article, we will review Calcium Fluoride (CaF2), an interesting glass that has a wide range of applications. Before we start,...
Beam splitters are a fundamental element in optical systems. Beam splitters are, in essence, optical components used to divide a single light source (usually a laser) into two separate beams. The more common kind of beam splitters (the kind that you can find in most...
As optical engineers, we are in charge of more than just the design and implementation of optical systems for specific applications: we often need to evaluate optical systems’ performance or to assess the quality of optical components. To do these assessments, we...
