Design and implementation of a high-performance panoramic annular lens

Area of Science:

• Optical Engineering
• Lens Design
• Imaging Systems

Background:

• Panoramic annular lenses (PALs) are crucial for wide-field imaging.
• Existing PAL designs often face challenges in balancing performance parameters like field of view and distortion.
• High-performance optical systems require precise design and optimization strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a high-performance panoramic annular lens system.
• To achieve a wide field of view with minimal optical distortion.
• To demonstrate the effectiveness of point-by-point design and variable parameter optimization.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a point-by-point design methodology.
• Employed variable parameter optimization strategies for lens design.
• Balanced key characteristic parameters through systematic optimization.

Main Results:

• Achieved a 360° × (40°-95°) field of view.
• The lens system has a focal length of 4.34 mm and an f-number of 4.5.
• Demonstrated F-θ distortion of less than 0.5% in design and less than 0.8% experimentally.

Conclusions:

• The proposed PAL system offers high performance with a wide field of view and low distortion.
• The design and optimization methods are effective in creating balanced optical systems.
• Experimental validation confirms the system's capabilities, with minor deviations attributed to mechanical factors.