Solutions | Optical Systems
Bring lens and pixel together in the same angle and wavelength space, and predict the picture the product will take once it is in production. What you judge on is not on-axis design performance but the image after tolerances, heat and stray light.
Design challenges
A sensor is not an ideal plane. It is a stack of microlens, color filter and photodiode with a response that depends on the angle of incidence. Design MTF says very little about the performance of shipped units. Tolerances, temperature and mechanics move the answer, and light that should never arrive shows up in the image as ghosting and flare. The loop that has to be closed runs between lens design and pixel design.
Design and simulation workflow
Settle the f-number, focal length, field of view, sensor format and imaging performance targets.
Build the merit function and move the aspheric coefficients while respecting manufacturability constraints.
Check MTF, relative illumination and distortion, and review the result through image simulation.
Identify the surfaces responsible and evaluate stray light for the system including its mechanics.
Obtain real-hardware performance from sensitivity analysis, Monte Carlo, and thermal and structural coupling.
Pass the angle-of-incidence distribution to the pixel side, obtain quantum efficiency and crosstalk, and feed them back into the image.
The stages differ by project. You can also start from an existing lens prescription or sensor specification.
Related analysis technologies
The principles and scope of each method are explained on the Analysis Technologies pages.
Related products
The capabilities and coverage of each product are described on its own product page.
Handles lens design and optimization, tolerances, thermal and mechanical effects, and stray light and ghost analysis. Covers sequential and non-sequential ray tracing and tolerance analysis.
Stage / 01-05
Handles optical analysis of the pixel structure. Three-dimensional FDTD gives the angle-of-incidence response of the pixel including microlens and color filter.
Stage / 06
Handles the electrical characteristics of the pixel. CHARGE gives quantum efficiency and crosstalk, fed back into the image.
Stage / 06
Handles image quality evaluation in a scene. Assesses the picture that would be taken, treating lens and pixel together as a sensor system.
Stage / 06
Related technical information
Tell us where the design stands, whether an initial form exists, the sensor specification, and whether tolerances or stray light is the problem, and we will propose a way forward.