Employment of reverse optimization to relax manufacturing tolerances imposed on system constructional parameters associated with complex optical systems

I describe a practical method for facilitating the construction of a complex optical arrangement that was extremely sensitive to manufacturing defects. I discuss dealing with the actual tolerancing process employed and outline the reverse optimization technique adopted to take the necessary corrective action with regard to the lens to yield the performance specified. The optical design to which the techniques are addressed is that of a high-performance color-corrected scanner lens, capable of resolving 200 line pairs/mm over a 10-mm(2) object. (C) 2000 Optical Society of America.