I am looking to make a telecentric lens to magnify an area of 500µmØ up to the point where I can have normal (3-12µm pitch) pixels on an imager chip resolve the target area down to the diffraction limit (a wavelength just shy of 400nm is used to illuminate the target).
Does anyone here have the time and expertise to assist, or to provide a rough starting point?
Hard lens materials (e.g. sapphire) are preferred. Light efficiency is not a concern (I have to use extremely short exposure times not to overload the detector anyway). Ghosts and chromatic aberration are a low priority. Depth of field is a concern. Size of the assembly is secondary to resolution, with an ideal diameter between 6mm and 6.5mm for the lens elements. Degree of telecentricity is a very high priority. Resolution is prime. Working distance can be in the range from 2mm to 75mm, but will always be within +/- 50% of the design center value, typically more like +/- 10%.
Lens making is, as I understand it, still something of an art, though appropriate software (which I do not have) is an essential aid in coming up with a good design in finite time. As it's an art I lack the talent for, I'm hoping someone here can give me a starting point, as I suspect the NRE costs to have the mfg do the lens design will go pretty high.
Any suggestions are welcome.
Does anyone here have the time and expertise to assist, or to provide a rough starting point?
Hard lens materials (e.g. sapphire) are preferred. Light efficiency is not a concern (I have to use extremely short exposure times not to overload the detector anyway). Ghosts and chromatic aberration are a low priority. Depth of field is a concern. Size of the assembly is secondary to resolution, with an ideal diameter between 6mm and 6.5mm for the lens elements. Degree of telecentricity is a very high priority. Resolution is prime. Working distance can be in the range from 2mm to 75mm, but will always be within +/- 50% of the design center value, typically more like +/- 10%.
Lens making is, as I understand it, still something of an art, though appropriate software (which I do not have) is an essential aid in coming up with a good design in finite time. As it's an art I lack the talent for, I'm hoping someone here can give me a starting point, as I suspect the NRE costs to have the mfg do the lens design will go pretty high.
Any suggestions are welcome.
