Aplanatic lenses revisited: the full landscape

Area of Science:

• Optical Engineering
• Materials Science

Background:

• Aplanatic lenses are crucial for minimizing optical aberrations.
• Achieving the theoretical limit for radiation transfer is a key challenge in lens design.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and analyze all possible solutions for dual-contour aplanatic lenses.
• To evaluate lens designs for their potential in radiation transfer applications.
• To present a specific design for light-emitting diode (LED) collimation.

Main Methods:

• Comprehensive identification and analysis of dual-contour aplanatic lens geometries.
• Illustration of complementary solutions, including monolithic and two-refractive-contour designs with air gaps.
• Performance evaluation of a selected LED collimation lens design.

Main Results:

• The full range of dual-contour aplanatic lens solutions approaching the radiation transfer limit were identified.
• Complementary solutions were found to be either monolithic or comprised of two refractive contours with an air gap.
• A promising representative design for LED collimation was presented and analyzed.

Conclusions:

• Dual-contour aplanatic lenses offer a viable pathway to approach the fundamental limit for radiation transfer.
• Both monolithic and air-gap configurations are feasible solutions.
• The presented LED collimation design shows practical utility.