Optical System Design Services

At Yighen Ultra Precision, we provide comprehensive optical system design services that transform your requirements into tolerance-ready prescriptions. Unlike catalog optics or generic design templates, our approach ensures that every system is engineered with manufacturability and robustness in mind.

We specialize in both imaging optics design and illumination optics design, covering applications from AR/VR displays and medical imaging to automotive LiDAR and aerospace sensors. Our engineers combine decades of experience with advanced tools such as Zemax OpticStudio, CODE V, and LightTools to deliver designs that work not only in simulation but also in the real world.

📩 Contact: info@yighen.com
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Why Optical System Design Matters

Optical performance is largely determined before a single lens is fabricated. The critical stage is system-level optical design: selecting the right architecture, defining stop and pupil placement, optimizing aberrations, managing stray light, and predicting how tolerances will affect yield.

If this phase is not done thoroughly, projects face costly redesigns, longer development cycles, and systems that fail under thermal or alignment stress.

By investing in robust optical design services, you achieve:

Reduced project risk — potential problems are solved in simulation, not discovered after manufacturing.
Shorter time-to-market — tolerance-ready prescriptions can move directly to Prototyping Optical Components.
Lower cost of ownership — only critical tolerances are held tight, while non-critical specs are relaxed.
Improved performance margins — higher MTF, lower distortion, better contrast under real conditions.

This is why Optical System Design is at the center of our engineering workflow, with supporting specialties such as Custom Optical Design, Freeform Optics Design, and Aspheric Lens Design branching from it.

What You Receive (Design Deliverables)

Our clients do not just receive an optical drawing—they receive a comprehensive design package:

System architecture definition — pupil/stop placement, FoV, F/#, working distance, track length, package envelope
Native design files — Zemax OpticStudio / CODE V with operand sets, merit functions, and optimization history
Tolerance analysis reports — sensitivities and Monte Carlo studies showing performance spread and yield prediction
Ghost and stray-light memo — see Stray-Light & Ghost Analysis for details
Material and coating recommendations — optimized for your wavelength band, environment, and cost targets
Verification checklist — how prototypes will be validated in Optical Assembly & Lens Modules

This package provides a clear handoff: your mechanical, prototyping, and manufacturing teams can proceed without ambiguity.

Our Optical Design Process

Yighen follows a structured, ISO-aligned design process that ensures reliability from concept to validation:

Requirements & Risk Definition
- Capture optical performance goals: resolution, MTF, encircled energy, distortion, throughput.
- Record constraints: volume, mass, thermal window, cost ceiling.
- Identify risks: ghosting, flare, chromatic sensitivity.
- Output: Requirements brief + risk register
System Architecture
- Select topology: refractive, reflective, or hybrid.
- Define stop/pupil placement, telecentricity, and packaging trades.
- Compare alternatives such as Freeform Optics Design vs Aspheric Lens Design.
- Output: Concept layouts with rationale
Optimization
- Merit functions optimized for MTF, EE, distortion, chromatic balance, throughput.
- Ensure prescriptions are tolerance-friendly for Prototyping Optical Components.
- Output: Native files + design rationale notes
Stray-Light & Ghost Control
- Ghost path tracing, scatter modeling (BRDF-based), glare prediction.
- Mitigation through apertures, baffles, coatings.
- Output: Stray-light report + recommendations (see Stray-Light & Ghost Analysis)
Tolerance & Athermalization
- Sensitivity sweeps, Monte Carlo analysis.
- Identify critical vs. non-critical tolerances, thermal stability strategies.
- Output: Tolerance table + thermal stability plan (see Tolerance Analysis & Athermalization)
Verification Plan
- Define interferometry, MTF, and environmental test methods.
- Ensure seamless transfer into Optical Assembly & Lens Modules.
- Output: Verification checklist aligned to system targets

Tools & Standards

Our design services are grounded in advanced tools and internationally recognized standards:

Imaging optics design: Zemax OpticStudio and CODE V for prescription development, aberration control, and performance optimization.
Illumination and stray-light analysis: LightTools for ghost path tracing, scatter evaluation, and illumination uniformity studies.
Optimization criteria: MTF, PSF, encircled energy (EE), distortion, throughput, wavefront RMS.
Tolerance simulation: sensitivity sweeps and Monte Carlo analysis to predict yield and robustness.
Thermal and athermalization: matched-CTE material choices, passive focus compensation.
Standards compliance: ISO 10110 for optical drawings and specification language.
Knowledge base: Methods published in SPIE and OSA proceedings inform our best practices.

Comparing Design Approaches

Not all optical systems require the same design path. Yighen provides multiple specialized approaches, each with unique strengths:

Design Path	When to Use	Benefits	Learn More
Custom Optical Design	Unique requirements, unusual packages, specialized detectors	Tailored solutions that adapt to your application	Custom Optical Design
Freeform Optics Design	Wide FoV, compact systems, off-axis aberration control	Reduce element count, enable multifunctional surfaces	Freeform Optics Design
Aspheric Lens Design	Imaging and illumination systems requiring maturity & manufacturability	Fewer elements, robust tolerance, cost efficiency	Aspheric Lens Design
Reverse Optical Engineering	Legacy optics without design data	Recover prescriptions, enable new manufacturing	Reverse Optical Engineering

This comparison illustrates that Optical System Design is the hub from which specialized paths branch out, depending on project goals.

Applications of Optical System Design

Optical system design supports a wide spectrum of industries. Each has unique requirements, and our team adapts designs accordingly.

AR/VR & Wearables
Systems demand compact packaging, wide fields, and stray-light control. We design freeform-based relays, pancake optics, and compact objectives that manage eyebox size and polarization. See Freeform Optics Design.
Medical Imaging
Endoscopes, microscopes, and diagnostic modules require distortion correction, high MTF, and color fidelity. We optimize designs for biocompatibility and sterilization constraints. See Custom Optical Design.
Automotive LiDAR & ADAS
Optical sensors must remain stable under –40 °C to +85 °C. Our designs integrate aspheric collimators, receiver optics, and thermal strategies for robust detection. See Tolerance Analysis & Athermalization.
Aerospace & Defense
Systems face extreme conditions and vibration. We deliver ruggedized, athermalized imaging and surveillance optics, with ghost suppression for contrast. See Aspheric Lens Design.
Industrial & Illumination Systems
Projection, machine vision, and laser beam shaping require uniform light distribution, minimal flare, and high throughput. Our stray-light evaluation ensures designs perform under real production conditions. See Stray-Light & Ghost Analysis.

Case Studies

1. Wide-FoV AR Display Relay
A leading AR headset developer faced severe packaging constraints: a wide field of view in a housing less than 20 mm thick. Our team redesigned the relay using freeform mirrors combined with carefully positioned stops. The new design reduced track length by 22% while maintaining >90% MTF across the field. Monte Carlo tolerance analysis confirmed stable yield, and ghost analysis verified minimal stray-light artifacts. This work demonstrated how system-level design + freeform optimization can achieve both compactness and robustness. See Freeform Optics Design.

2. SWIR Collimator for Automotive Sensing
An automotive Tier-1 supplier required a collimator operating in the 1.0–1.6 μm range, stable across –40 °C to +85 °C. Yighen developed an aspheric-based collimator with athermal spacers, holding focus drift <0.02 mm across the full range. Tolerance simulations identified centration as the most critical parameter, while thickness errors could be relaxed—reducing production cost by 18%. This project highlighted the value of Tolerance Analysis & Athermalization in real-world sensing systems.

3. Medical Microscope Imaging Module
A diagnostic device builder needed an imaging module with distortion <1% and high contrast under mixed illumination. Our design used aspheric prescriptions to correct field curvature and ghost path suppression to reduce flare. BRDF-based stray-light modeling guided the use of baffles and anti-reflective coatings. Prototype testing showed a 25% improvement in contrast and a yield increase from 78% to 94%. This illustrates how Stray-Light & Ghost Analysis combined with robust system design ensures medical-grade performance.

4. Reverse Engineering for Aerospace Optics
A defense contractor required replacement optics for a legacy surveillance system without design data. Using interferometry and CAD modeling, Yighen reconstructed the prescription and tolerance structure through Reverse Optical Engineering. The new design matched original performance while being manufacturable with modern processes. This ensured system longevity without prohibitive redesign costs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What is optical system design?
A: It is the process of defining, optimizing, and validating an optical architecture so it delivers performance in both simulation and physical hardware.

Q2. How is custom optical design different?
A: Custom design adapts every parameter—field, FoV, spectral band—to unique needs. See Custom Optical Design.

Q3. When should I choose freeform optics instead of aspherics?
A: Freeforms are best for compact, wide-field architectures; aspherics are simpler and more cost-effective. See Freeform Optics Design and Aspheric Lens Design.

Q4. How do you manage stray light and ghosts?
A: Through early ray-trace simulations, BRDF modeling, and mitigation strategies. See Stray-Light & Ghost Analysis.

Q5. How do you ensure manufacturability?
A: By sensitivity and Monte Carlo simulations, plus error budgets. See Tolerance Analysis & Athermalization.

Q6. Do you support prototyping and builds?
A: Yes. Designs can be directly handed to our Prototyping Optical Components and Optical Assembly & Lens Modules teams.

Q7. Can you design for VIS, NIR, SWIR, MWIR?
A: Yes—our prescriptions include material and coating recommendations for each band.

Q8. What is the typical project timeline?
A: Most projects reach tolerance-ready design in 3–6 weeks, depending on complexity and iteration cycles.

Q9. Do you provide native Zemax or CODE V files?
A: Yes—clients receive native files with optimization history and tolerance setups.

Q10. Do you handle legacy optics without design data?
A: Yes, via Reverse Optical Engineering.

Start Your Optical System Design

📩 Email: info@yighen.com
Please include: wavelength band, FoV/resolution, packaging limits, expected quantity, and timeline.
We reply within 24 hours.