Traditional lens designs utilize spherical surfaces which are easy and economical to manufacture but result in residual aberrations that limit performance. Aspheric surfaces use a sophisticated mathematical description that deviates slightly from a perfect sphere, allowing designers to compensate for these aberrations and produce higher quality optics. This revolutionized lens design by enabling sharper, clearer images without increasing size or cost.

The Origin of Aspheric Optics

The concept of aspheric surfaces dates back to the late 19th century when scholars like Gauss and Abbe began exploring more complex surface profiles. However, manufacturing such complex shapes proved extremely difficult with the technologies available at the time. It wasn't until the 1950s-60s that computerized numerical control of precision machining and polishing tools allowed practical production of Aspheric Lenses components in lenses and mirrors. This milestone triggered an explosion of aspheric optics applications across industries.

Reducing Aberrations with Aspheric Surfaces

Spherical surfaces produce inherent monochromatic aberrations such as spherical aberration, coma, astigmatism, and field curvature that limit performance. By strategically manipulating the aspheric profile, designers can introduce compensating wavefront errors to counterbalance these aberrations over the visual field or specific portion of the spectrum. This "tailored" approach minimizes overall aberration budgets and relaxes other optical design constraints for improved image quality within a compact format.

Get more insights on Aspheric Lenses