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 comple x optical arrangement that was extremely sensitive to manufacturing defects . I discuss dealing with the actual tolerancing process employed and outlin e the reverse optimization technique adopted to take the necessary correcti ve action with regard to the lens to yield the performance specified. The o ptical design to which the techniques are addressed is that of a high-perfo rmance color-corrected scanner lens, capable of resolving 200 line pairs/mm over a 10-mm(2) object. (C) 2000 Optical Society of America.