Design of a freeform electronic viewfinder coupled to aberration fields of freeform optics

The newly formulated theory of aberration fields of freeform surfaces describes the aberrations that freeform Zernike polynomial surfaces can correct within folded powered optical systems. This theory has guided the design of an OLED-based reflective freeform electronic viewfinder covering a 25 degrees full field-of-view with a 12 mm eyebox, which is reported together with a detailed methodology that begins with developing an unobscured starting point and ends with an optimized freeform design, analyzed both in display and visual spaces. In addition, tolerancing of the system points to the potential low sensitivity of these systems to manufacturing tilt (10 arcmin), decenter and despace (100 mu m), and figure errors (lambda/2 @ 0.632 mu m). (C) 2015 Optical Society of America