Research Article

Implementation of FORMIDABLE: A generalized differential optical design library with NURBS capabilities

¹ ONERA, Chemin de la Hunière, 91123 Palaiseau Cedex, France
² Valley Optics B.V., Molengraaffsingel 12, 2629 JD Delft, The Netherlands
³ Airbus Defence and Space, Rue des Cosmonautes 31, 31402 Toulouse, France
⁴ European Space Agency – ESTEC, Keplerlaan 1, PO box 299, 2200AG Noordwijk, The Netherlands

^* Corresponding author: jbv@pm.me

Received: 15 August 2023
Accepted: 22 November 2023

Abstract

In this article we describe the implementation of Freeform Optics Raytracer with Manufacturable Imaging Design cApaBiLitiEs (FORMIDABLE): an optical design library capable of simulating optical systems by ray-tracing. Optical performance can be quantified and optimised using third-party optimisation algorithms. Compared to available commercial optical design software and similarly to fast accurate NURBS optimization (FANO), our code can simulate and optimise Non-uniform rational B-Spline (NURBS). It also implements generalized differential capabilities that allows faster convergence compared to state-of-the-art. The implementation of FORMIDABLE and its innovative capabilities are described and illustrated with a representative case-study. The source code is available to eligible third-parties under the ECSL licence.