Freeform Optics Design Services | Advanced Optical Engineering

At Yighen Ultra Precision, we help clients unlock the power of freeform optics—surfaces without rotational symmetry that deliver functions traditional optics cannot. Freeform optics allow optical engineers to reduce system size, improve performance across wide fields, and integrate multiple functions into a single surface.

Our design team combines simulation expertise with real-world manufacturability awareness. Every freeform prescription we deliver is tolerance-tested and prepared for prototyping.

📩 Contact us at info@yighen.com — We reply within 24 hours

Why Freeform Optics?

This capability complements the full Optical System Design process, ensuring that freeform or aspheric solutions remain robust at the system level. Traditional spherical or aspheric lenses reach their limits when systems demand compact packaging or wide-field aberration control. Freeform surfaces overcome these limits by:

• Reducing element count — fewer lenses or mirrors to achieve the same performance

• Enabling compact architectures — shorter track length and smaller packages for AR/VR, automotive, and handheld devices

• Correcting complex aberrations — especially off-axis aberrations in wide field-of-view systems

• Supporting multifunction designs — combining focusing, folding, and correction into a single surface

What You Receive in Freeform Design Projects

• Architecture and layout with freeform surfaces integrated into your system

• Zemax OpticStudio design files with freeform surface definitions and optimization history

• Tolerance and Monte Carlo results showing how freeforms behave under misalignment or manufacturing error

• Stray-light evaluation and baffle recommendations specific to freeform layouts

• Material and coating advice for freeform-compatible substrates and wavelength ranges

• Verification plan including metrology notes (profilometry, interferometry for freeform validation)

Our Approach to Freeform Design

Designing with freeform optics requires different thinking than with rotationally symmetric surfaces. Our process includes:

1. Feasibility & trade studies — comparing freeform vs. aspheric vs. spherical architectures

2. Optimization strategies — freeform coefficients optimized for aberration control and packaging fit

3. Manufacturability checks — surface slope, sag, and tool-path complexity reviewed to ensure realistic fabrication

4. Tolerance simulations — Monte Carlo runs to quantify how freeform surfaces behave in assembly

5. Verification plan — defining which metrology tools will validate the freeform surface

Applications of Freeform Optics

• AR/VR & Wearables — compact relays, folded optics, pancake-style systems with reduced element count

• Automotive LiDAR & Sensors — beam shaping and receiver optics optimized for coverage and efficiency

• Projection & Illumination — uniformity control, light shaping, and efficiency improvements with fewer elements

• Medical & Life Sciences — compact imaging paths in diagnostic equipment where space is limited

• Defense & Aerospace — rugged, lightweight systems with wide field-of-view requirements

Case Snapshots

• AR display relay — reduced track length by 20% using freeform mirrors while maintaining wide FoV and high MTF.

• LiDAR receiver module — optimized with a freeform lens to improve efficiency and uniformity across scanning range.

• Medical handheld device — replaced a multi-element design with a single freeform surface, reducing weight and improving robustness.

• “The athermalization strategy described here was validated as part of a system-level Optical System Design.”

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is freeform optics design?
A: It is the process of designing optical systems using surfaces without rotational symmetry, enabling unique aberration control and compact packaging.

Q: What are the main benefits of freeform surfaces?
A: They reduce element count, shrink system size, correct off-axis aberrations, and allow multifunctional optical performance.

Q: Are freeform designs harder to manufacture?
A: They can be more complex, but with modern diamond turning and ultra-precision grinding, many freeforms are practical. We design with manufacturability in mind.

Q: Which industries benefit most from freeform design?
A: AR/VR displays, automotive LiDAR, projection optics, medical imaging, and aerospace systems.

Q: Do you provide native freeform design files?
A: Yes—clients receive Zemax/CODE V files with full documentation, tolerance data, and metrology guidance.

Q: How does this service relate to overall system design?
A: It is part of our larger Optical System Design service, where all subsystems—custom optics, freeforms, aspherics, and analysis—are integrated into a coherent framework.

Start Your Freeform Optics Project

📩 Email info@yighen.com with your wavelength, field of view, package constraints, and desired application.
We reply within 24 hours.

Related Content

• Optical System Design — complete system-level process from requirements to verification.

• Custom Optical Design — tailored optical design for unique customer requirements and specialized applications.

• Aspheric Lens Design — optimization of aspheric prescriptions to reduce element count and improve imaging.

• Stray-Light & Ghost Analysis — evaluation and suppression strategies for ghosts, scatter, and flare.

• Tolerance Analysis & Athermalization — Monte Carlo robustness studies and thermal stability planning.

• Prototyping Optical Components — fast iteration of tolerance-ready prescriptions into physical prototypes.

• Optical Assembly & Lens Modules — integration of designed components into precision optical assemblies.

• Reverse Optical Engineering — reconstructing optical design intent from legacy parts for new builds.