MSC Software Corporation

Overview:
When optical systems become exposed to a non-ideal environment, their optical performance degrades. For example, a lens system which was designed to produce high quality images may produce poor quality images when subjected to the thermal effects of a laser beam. Some of the energy in the beam is absorbed by each lens, causing temperature gradients throughout each lens that deform the lens surfaces. A second effect of the temperature gradients is a change in the indices of refraction, optical material properties that are dependent on temperature. A third and less important effect is that the temperature gradients induce stresses that also change the indices of refraction. These combined effects cause image quality to decline.To predict the effects of the environment on optical systems in order to optimize design and minimize its effects

• Reduction of weight be a factor of 2 while maintaining the required optical and structural performance metrics.