ONE OPTICAL DESIGN PATTERN/METHOD OF A COST EFFECTIVE IR LENS
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Abstract
An optical design pattern/method was invented to control the total cost including the material and the manufacturing of IR imaging lenses. This optical design pattern/method comprises a molded lens and an aberration correction lens. This design pattern/method leads to cost-effective IR imaging lenses because the unit cost of the molded lens is low for a volume production and the unit cost of the aberration correction lens is low for its very small manufacturing. This optical design pattern/method comprises any imaging and spectral applications for any partial band of 1 to 14 micron, such as (but not limited to) SWIR, MWIR, and LWIR.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. (canceled)
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2. (canceled)
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3. A lens system comprising:
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a first lens element comprising chalcogenide glass, and a second lens element having a planar surface, the second lens element comprising a material selected from the group consisting of Germanium, Silicon, ZnSe, ZnS, CdTe, KBr, CaF2, BaF2, MgF2, SiO2, and GaAs, wherein optical power of the first lens element is substantially same as optical power of the lens system, and wherein the second lens element provides aberration correction. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A lens assembly comprising:
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a first lens element comprising chalcogenide glass, the first lens element having a diffractive surface; and a second lens element having a planar surface, the second lens element comprising a material selected from the group consisting of Germanium, Silicon, ZnSe, ZnS, CdTe, KBr, CaF2, BaF2, MgF2, SiO2, and GaAs, wherein the optical power of the second lens element is less than the optical power of the first lens element, and wherein the second lens element provides aberration correction. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A optical system comprising:
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a molded lens having an optical power, the molded lens comprising chalcogenide glass, and an aberration correction element comprising a material selected from the group consisting of Germanium, Silicon, ZnSe, ZnS, CdTe, KBr, CaF2, BaF2, MgF2, SiO2, and GaAs, wherein optical power provided by the aberration correction element is less than the optical power of the molded lens, and wherein aberration correction element comprises a planar surface. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification