Synopsys Announces 2017 Robert S. Hilbert Memorial Optical Design Competition Results

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Aug. 8, 2017

This year's award winners are:

Hekun Huang of the University of Arizona, for his paper titled, "Design of an Integral-Imaging-Based Light Field Head Mounted Display Using Freeform Optics." Huang presented a miniature 3D light field display system for use in head-worn, augmented-reality technologies. Huang designed the system in CODE V using freeform eyepiece optics and a micro-integral imaging module to decrease the overall weight and volume of the system while providing a high-quality 3D display intended to reduce visual fatigue.

"The Robert S. Hilbert Memorial Design Competition award means a lot to me," said Huang. "Exploring CODE V is fun and exciting, and I believe it will be a great help for my future career in optics."

Nicholas Kochan of the University of Rochester, for his paper titled, "Design Study: Dual Band Solar Concentrator/Coupler." Kochan used CODE V and LightTools to design an optical solar concentrator that combines solar photovoltaic and daylighting collection into a single unit to maximize the amount of solar energy captured and utilized. Kochan's design concentrates broadband visible light into a flexible optical fiber or lightguide to deliver natural light to a room while simultaneously concentrating infrared light onto a photovoltaic cell for conversion to electrical energy.

"I'm grateful that opportunities like this competition are generously supported," said Kochan. "I hope that in my career I can further this momentum to explore optics and encourage others to join the optics community."

Maximillian Bruggeman of the University of Rochester, for his paper titled, "Design of a Telephoto SLR Camera Lens from Scratch." Bruggeman presented a 200 mm lens design that meets all manufacturing and packaging specifications. He used the CODE V SpecBuilder™ feature throughout the project to monitor and optimize the design. Additionally, he used the CODE V Glass Expert tool for color correction, the CODE V General Tolerance Sensitivity optimization constraint to reduce system sensitivity to tolerances, and the CODE V Wavefront Differential Tolerancing (TOR) and Interactive Tolerancing features for rapid tolerancing and identification of the most effective locations of compensators.