Introduction to Optical Design

Catalog description

This course is intended to give an introduction to the fundamentals of optical design, including geometric optics, matrix theory, and aberration theory. Students will become proficient at utilizing merit functions and solve within an industry-standard optical design software, in order to conceptualize, design, optimize, and analyze optical systems. This course will also cover an overview of traditional lens designs such as landscape lenses, periscopic lenses, and ocular lenses (eyepieces). It will also include selected advanced designs such as telescopes and spectrographs. Due to the lab nature of this course and the subject material, students will need to have access to a laptop on which they can install the design software and bring with them to class to complete course lab work.