Off-axis three-mirror freeform telescope with a large linear field of view based on an integration mirror

We report on the design of an off-axis three-mirror freeform telescope with a large field of view (FOV) based on an integration mirror (IM). This design is the continuation of the authors' previous work. Based on aberration theory, we established a suitable nonrelayed three-mirror-anastigmat initial configuration for integration mirror design. For an optical freeform surface, we analyzed the qualitative aberration correction ability of a x-y polynomial surface that can provide a simple, convenient, and user-friendly relationship between freeform surface term coefficients and aberrations and then applied the x-y polynomial surface on the tertiary mirror to improve the system optimization degrees of freedom. In an example with a focal length of 1200 mm, an F-number of 12, and a FOV of 1 degrees x 30 degrees, the tolerance performance was analyzed, and the system presented a good imaging performance. In addition, the IM structure and opto-mechanics support structure were designed and analyzed. The confirmatory design results showed that the integration of the primary mirror and tertiary mirror can improve opto-mechanical properties judged by multiple criteria. In conclusion, the integration of the primary mirror and tertiary mirror not only offers alignment convenience as described previously but also improves system opto-mechanical properties in multiple perspectives. We believe this large linear FOV system based on IM has broad future applications in the optical remote sensing field. (C) 2016 Optical Society of America