Manufacturing technology for large aspheric lenses

Subject of research . The fabrication of aspheric lenses is studied in this paper. Aim of study . The study aims to develop a small-tool manufacturing process for large aspheric lenses. The method includes preliminary shaping of the aspheric and spherical surfaces, use of a small tool for polishing the aspheric surface, fabrication of a special lens manufacturing cell for polishing the spherical surface, intermediate centering of the aspheric surface in the manufacturing cell, shaping of the spherical surface that is centered relative to the reference surfaces of the manufacturing cell, polishing the spherical surface, mounting the lens in a temporary cell, centering the lens in the temporary cell, and polishing the reference surfaces of the cell. Main results . The lens centering error was analyzed as a function of the conic constant, the relative aperture, and the lens diameter. A manufacturing process for large aspheric lenses was developed and implemented. Practical significance . A high-resolution infrared objective for an optoelectronic remote-sensing system was manufactured using the process developed in this paper.