Simultaneous improvement of field-of-view and resolution in an imaging optical system

A novel imaging system design is proposed, in which the FOV and maximum resolution are improved simultaneously while the detector remains fixed. These improvements are realized using freeform optical surfaces and field-dependent characteristic parameters. The resulting imaging system design has optical properties that vary continuously with the field angle. In the central FOV, the system is equivalent to a long-focal-length camera, while in the marginal FOV, it is equivalent to a short-focal-length camera; however, the system has a constant F-number across the FOV. A 2× variation in the field-dependent characteristic parameters across the FOV is achieved.