Ideal thin lens lookalike

Abstract

We design an ideal thin lens lookalike surface using a new free-form optical construction method. The method incorporates a one-to-one correspondence to the desired ideal thin lens, resulting in a set of solvable differential equations. The view through the component was simulated and compared to the view through an ideal thin lens. While the resulting lookalike lens mimicked an ideal thin lens near perfectly, it only works well for one specific position — the design position.