Theory and tradespace analysis of a reflective axial adaptive optical zoom system

Optical zoom enables wide and narrow fields-of-view within a single optical system. Traditional zoom designs translate elements along the optical axis, a technique that is generally prohibitive for large diameter optics. Adaptive optical zoom (AOZ) alters system magnification via variable focal length elements, a technique that has the potential to facilitate zoom in large diameter systems. This paper details a novel optical theory developed to design AOZ systems. The developed theory modifies existing techniques for telescope objective design and third-order aberration determination to accommodate the additional degrees of freedom found with AOZ. The derived theory also enables a large-scale tradespace analysis, allowing optical design to begin from a broad perspective and optimize a particular design. Using the tradespace analysis, a Cassegrain AOZ objective with a 3.3Xzoom ratio is designed, demonstrating the capability and validity of the theory. (C) 2012 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). [DOI: 10.1117/1.OE.51.8.083001]