Freeform optical design for a nonscanning corneal imaging system with a convexly curved image

Most existing techniques that are typically used by specialists to image the cornea are based on point, slit, or annular scanning due to a narrow field of view. The difficulty in achieving a larger field of view comes from the convex shape of the human eyeball. Field curvature for a refractive imaging system with positive power is typically negative and thus a concave image surface. In order to view the full cornea and sclera with snapshot imaging, we calculate qualified two- and three-mirror solutions from Seidel aberration theory. A three-mirror solution is further optimized as a high-resolution off-axis imaging system using freeform surfaces, which can obtain a full-field tailored image shell without scanning. The lateral resolution on the cornea is about 10 μm with good modulation transfer function (MTF) and spot performance. To ease the assembly, a monolithic design is achieved with slightly lower resolution, leading to a potential mass production solution.