Multifield direct design method for ultrashort throw ratio projection optics with two tailored mirrors

Abstract

© 2016 Optical Society of America. In this work, we present a multifield direct design method for ultrashort throw ratio projection optics. The multifield design method allows us to directly calculate two freeform mirror profiles, which are fitted by odd polynomials and imported into an optical design program as an excellent starting point. Afterward, these two mirrors are represented by XY polynomial freeform surfaces for further optimization. The final configuration consists of an off-the-shelf projection lens and two XY polynomial freeform mirrors to greatly shorten the regular projection distance from 2 m to 48 cm for a 78.3 inch diagonal screen. The values of the modulation transfer function for the optimized freeform mirror system are improved to over 0.6 at 0.5 lp/mm, in comparison with its rotationally symmetric counterpart's 0.43, and the final distortion is less than 1.5%, showing a very good and well-tailored imaging performance over the entire field of view.