SBIR-STTR Award

The purpose of the proposed research is to understand the trade-offs between gradient-index optical systems and aspheric systems. In the case of gradient-index systems, it is known that certain additional degrees of freedom exist which make radial gradients more useful than axial gradients and that axial gradients have the additional capacity to correct aberrations with respect to aspheric surfaces. However, it has never been shown, in real optical systems, where these advantages lead. For example, does this mean the difference of fewer number of elements in an axial gradient-index system versus its aspheric counterpart? Is the aspheric system easier or more difficult to make than an axial gradient and, finally, what is the expected cost advantage in low volume production (less than 1,000 parts/month) in the short term (0-3 years) and the long term (4-10 years).

During the phase i portion of this sbir program, it was found that the addition of an aspheric surface or an axial gradient in the objective lenses of a 4x riflescope improved the performance of the optical system. It was also determined that the axial gradient had somewhat better performance than the aspheric. The purpose of this phase is to construct each one of these systems and to determine which one will in fact be better both in terms of its final cost and its ease in manufacturing. The aspheric system will be based on surfaces produced by our computer aided manufacturing machine originally developed by the university of rochester under the sponsorship of picatinny arsenal. The axial gradient system will be based on glasses developed earlier under a separate sbir program sponsored by the national science foundation.