The Search For A Global Minimum In Optical Design

Doron Sturlesi; Donald C. O'Shea

doi:10.1117/12.962974

22 December 1989 The Search For A Global Minimum In Optical Design

Doron Sturlesi, Donald C. O'Shea

Proceedings Volume 1168, Current Developments in Optical Engineering and Commercial Optics; (1989) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.962974
Event: 33rd Annual Technical Symposium, 1989, San Diego, United States

Abstract

This work explores an approach to the search for optimum solution in the multidimensional design space of a lens design through a survey of the system merit function by a systematic variation of relevant design parameters. Since there is no definitive algorithm that can lead from an initial configuration to a true optimal solution, most of the existing automatic design programs depend on mathematical optimization routines to direct the search to the nearest best solution, or Local Minimum, and usually they are unable to proceed towards a Global Minimum. This state of affairs often leads to a solution the quality of which is very much dependent on the initial configuration overlooking more promising regions. The new approach is a combined systematic procedure. In a first coarse sampling phase the program finds the favorable regions that correspond to potentially promising configurations. In a second phase, conventional optimization routines are used to find the best configuration in each region, and then a final selection phase is carried out in which the special requirements that were not included in the merit function are brought into consideration for the specific application at hand. This method provides overall information about a given design space and offers a selection of "best" solutions to choose from. It can be further refined by excluding from the systematic search some unfavorable configuration regions, by adopting elements of Artificial Intelligence disciplines. Speeding up the search can also be achieved through Parallel-Processing methods. Some selected multidimensional design spaces are evaluated and searched for best configurations. The results are presented and discussed, and comparison is made to the more conventional design approaches.

Citation Download Citation

Doron Sturlesi and Donald C. O'Shea "The Search For A Global Minimum In Optical Design", Proc. SPIE 1168, Current Developments in Optical Engineering and Commercial Optics, (22 December 1989); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.962974

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