All off-axis aspheric or non-rotationally symmetric surfaces that require high precision wavefront quality would benefit from the innovation outlined in this proposal. The optical design industry has been and continues to be interested in freeform optics, and with each new design the demand for higher precision increases. Freeform optics relevant to NASA include -the "steeply aspheric 8.4 m diameter off-axis GMT mirror" -"x-ray and UV imaging instruments on weather satellites" -a diamond machined freeform mirror in the IRMOS spectrometer at the Kitt Peak National Observatory -a three mirror telescope system -coronagraphs for exo-solar planet search These examples indicate that future NASA missions will require precision freeform optical components. Freeform optics are quickly becoming part of many commercial and military optical systems. Many optical designers are starting to use freeform optics to achieve optical performance (less aberrations), lighter weight optical systems through a reduced number of components, and an increased ability to go off axis with smaller and tighter packages. Optimax is starting to offer commercial quality freeforms as a standard component. We are seeing designs for beam shaping, corrector plates, conformal windows, and head-up displays for example. A variety of flexible in-house metrology capabilities is necessary due to the exotic nature of the optics.
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