Lens design fundamentals (2nd Ed.)

Rudolf Kingslake is regarded as the father of lens design; his book, not revised since its publication in 1978, is viewed as a classic in the field. Naturally, the field has developed considerably since the book was published. The most obvious change is the availability of powerful lens design software packages which all lens designers use. However, a lens designer still needs to understand the fundamentals of lens design otherwise a design could be faulty, costly to develop and difficult to manufacture. The market for the book has increased considerably since publication as optical systems are being implemented in a wide variety of applications, including cameras in cellular phones, very affordable digital cameras, medical instruments, display systems, infrared sensors, web cams, money scanners, etc. The advent of software packages for lens design has meant there are a lot more engineers carrying out design than when the book was first published. However, to be a good designer it is not enough to just use the software; it is also necessary to understand the principles of lens design. This book provides the skills and knowledge to move into the exciting world of contemporary lens design and develop the practical lenses needed for the great variety of 21st-century applications. In keeping with market trends, this book has been thoroughly updated, and includes two new chapters on the effective use of lens design software packages.

The Work of the Lens Designer, Ray Tracing, Paraxial Rays and First-Order Optics, Introduction to Aberration Theory, Axial Chromatic Aberrations, Spherical Aberrations, Design of a Spherically Corrected Achromat, Oblique Pencils, Coma and the Sine Condition, Design of Aplanatic Objectives, The Oblique Aberrations, Lens in which Stop position is a Degree of Freedom, Symmetrical Double Anastigmats with Fixed Stop, Unsymmetrical Photographic Objectives, Mirror and Catadioptric Systems, Eyepiece Design, Computer-Aided Lens Design.

Optical engineers working in lens design in traditional areas such as telescopes and glasses but also in new areas - digital cameras, display systems, webcams, graduate students taking courses in lens design in an optics and optical engineering program.