Off-the-shelf optical systems design enabled by an evolution strategy: front stop case

Abstract Commercial off-the-shelf optics enable economic and rapid solutions in the photonics industry and academia. However, the design of optical systems with off-the-shelf optics is a time-consuming task for experienced optical designers and hopeless for novice designers. In this paper, we propose an automatic optical design tool to generate optical systems using only off-the-shelf optical components without human assistance. Our solution is based on an evolution strategy (ES) that performs a discrete combinatorial optimization following optical design-based methodologies that satisfy user-defined specifications. Unlike the conventional methods, the algorithm decreases the design process time and provides optical designers with several optical solutions from where to choose and adapt for targeted applications. In this work, the ES is described and tested with front stop optical configurations. We demonstrate the broad solution domain of the algorithm through the generation of optical systems with F-numbers within a range F/1 to F/90 and field of views up to 300 mm at the image plane. To analyze the solution domain and the characteristics of the solution, we used the design specifications of 29 commercially available scan lenses and compared the performance of different ES parameters. The compatibility of our algorithm with (standard) commercially available optical design software unlocks automatic design tools for off-the-shelf optical systems.