Requirement to optical budget
Translate application goals into measurable optical budgets: resolution, field, aperture, wavelength, throughput, and distortion.
Custom optical designPalo Alto, California
OPTICAL DESIGN / OPTOMECHANICAL / DESIGN TRANSFER
Custom optical design, from first concept to manufacturable hardware.
Palo Alto Optics provides custom optical design and optical engineering services for product teams that need a working optical system, not just a lens prescription. We take a requirement from concept through detailed design, tolerancing, optomechanical integration, prototyping, and transfer to manufacturing.
SYSTEM WORKFLOWPAO / 01
01Requirements
02Optical design
03Optomechanical
04Prototype
05Design transfer
Custom lens design, optical system design, and optical engineering consulting for startups and established product teams.
01Engineering reality
A lens prescription is not a product. The optical system has to close.
Nominal image quality in a design file is only the starting point. Tolerances, stray light, thermal behavior, packaging, assembly, alignment, cost, and manufacturability determine whether a custom optical design becomes hardware that ships.
Manufacturable, toleranced design
Optimize the design with real tolerances, sensitivity analysis, and Monte Carlo yield so it can be built at the target cost and volume.
System-level integration
Resolve optomechanics, coatings, stray light, thermal effects, alignment, and test before committing to fabrication.
02Project fit
Contact PAO when the optical requirement is product-critical but the path to buildable hardware is not yet closed.
The best fit is a team facing an architecture decision, a catalog-optics limit, a stalled prototype, or a design that now needs tolerancing, optomechanics, verification, and supplier transfer.
Architecture is still open
You need to compare optical forms, sensors, sources, package envelopes, and performance trades before committing product architecture.
A design needs to become hardware
You have a concept or Zemax/CODE V model but still need tolerances, drawings, optomechanics, sourcing, alignment, and test.
Measured performance is missing
A prototype or supplier build is not meeting requirements and the team needs model-to-test correlation and a focused recovery plan.
ENGINEERING DECISION TABLE
Inputs that change the architecture, acceptance method, and program risk.
| Input condition | Key metric | Design choice | Risk if unresolved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Object, field, and working distance | Resolution, MTF, distortion, depth of field | Lens form, focal length, aperture, sensor format | The system cannot resolve the application feature across the full field. |
| Wavelength and source spectrum | Transmission, chromatic focus, stray light | Glass, coatings, detector, refractive or reflective form | Low signal, focus shift, ghosts, or unavailable materials. |
| Package and environment | Line of sight, thermal shift, vibration stability | Fold geometry, mounts, datums, athermalization | A nominal design fails after integration or environmental exposure. |
| Volume, cost, and supplier process | Tolerance yield and acceptance capability | Surface form, tolerance allocation, material, assembly method | Low yield, unmeasurable drawings, or cost that misses the product target. |
SELECTED ENGINEERING EVIDENCE
Published scope, verification method, and disclosure boundary.
These records describe documented engineering experience or the evidence plan PAO uses for new work. They do not imply that prior-employer programs were PAO customer engagements.
Custom imaging, projection, and laser systems
- Scope
- Documented prior-role work across high-NA microscope objectives, fisheye projection optics, femtosecond-laser optics, and integrated inspection systems.
- Verification
- Optical prescriptions, tolerance analysis, supplier drawings, metrology planning, image tests, and model-to-test comparison.
- Boundary
- Customer identities, exact specifications, quantities, and confidential results are withheld.
Evidence package for a new PAO program
- Scope
- Requirements trace, controlled model and drawings, tolerance/yield analysis, as-built configuration, and verification report.
- Verification
- Acceptance methods and conditions are agreed before build; measured results are compared with the released configuration.
- Boundary
- Performance, schedule, and cost are program-specific and are not promised before requirements and supplier capability are reviewed.
03Engineering scope
One accountable optical workstream from concept to production.
PAO can start at architecture, take over a stalled design, or recover a system already in development, and hold the technical thread through verification.
Define a technical work packageOptical system design
Architecture, first-order layout, lens design and optimization in Zemax and CODE V, trade studies, and performance budgets.
Custom lens design
Refractive, reflective, catadioptric, aspheric, and freeform designs for imaging, illumination, and sensing systems.
Tolerancing and analysis
Sensitivity analysis, Monte Carlo yield, stray light, ghost, thermal, and structural-thermal-optical performance analysis.
Optomechanical design
Mounts, datums, athermalization, alignment strategy, and packaging engineered with the optics rather than after them.
Coatings and materials
Anti-reflection, filter, and mirror coatings, glass and polymer material selection, and environmental durability.
Prototyping and design transfer
Custom parts, assembly, alignment, metrology, acceptance criteria, and a clean handoff package to your manufacturing supplier.
04Technical envelope
Custom optical design across imaging, sensing, and display systems.
Representative capability is shown with the context needed to qualify it. Program requirements control the final architecture and acceptance values.
LiDAR and automotive sensing
Transmit and receive optics, HUD and projection systems, and detection-range optimization.
AR/VR and near-eye displays
Waveguide, pancake, and birdbath architectures, exit-pupil expansion, and near-eye trade studies.
Medical and biomedical imaging
Diagnostic and imaging optics engineered toward regulated device requirements.
Robotics and machine vision
Custom lenses, multi-spectral sensing, illumination, and calibration for automation and inspection.
REFERENCE ENVELOPE
Design softwareZemax OpticStudio / CODE VSequential and non-sequential design, tolerancing, and stray-light analysis
Spectral rangeUV, visible, NIR, SWIR, LWIRMaterial and coating selection by band
System typesImaging / illumination / sensingRefractive, reflective, catadioptric, aspheric, freeform
Engagement stageConcept to design transferEnter at any point in the development cycle
Capabilities indicate typical engagements, not fixed limits. Feasibility depends on requirements, wavelength, tolerances, environment, cost target, volume, and schedule. If requirements are incomplete, PAO can develop the specification first.
05What you receive
Engineering outputs your team can review, build, test, and maintain.
The exact package follows the program stage and scope. Assumptions, interfaces, decisions, and acceptance evidence remain visible.
Optical design package
Design files, prescription, layout, performance budgets, tolerances, and analysis results.
Tolerance and yield analysis
Sensitivity study, Monte Carlo yield, and as-built performance prediction.
Optomechanical concept
Mount, datum, athermalization, alignment, and packaging interfaces.
Coating and material specification
Spectral and environmental requirements, material selection, and witness criteria.
Prototype and test plan
Build strategy, metrology, acceptance criteria, and validation approach.
Manufacturing transfer package
Supplier-ready drawings, specifications, and data requirements for production.
06Controlled delivery
A local engineering interface from first review through release.
PAO leads the technical work, coordinates specialized fabrication and production resources under the project quality process, and keeps responsibility for requirements, interfaces, evidence, and issue closure clear.
- 01
Technical intake
Define the system boundary, decision to be made, current evidence, constraints, and confidentiality path.
- 02
Requirements and risk
Create measurable requirements, interface assumptions, performance budgets, and a ranked technical risk register.
- 03
Architecture and proof
Compare viable concepts and retire the highest-risk assumptions with analysis, breadboards, or targeted tests.
- 04
Detailed engineering
Develop controlled optical, mechanical, calibration, test, and supplier-ready documentation.
- 05
Build and verification
Support procurement, assembly, alignment, test correlation, root cause, and evidence-based iteration.
- 06
Release and transfer
Close acceptance criteria, configuration, supplier questions, manufacturing issues, and production handoff.
07Qualification questions
Questions engineering teams ask before engaging.
01What information do you need to start a custom optical design project?
Ideally the application, key performance targets such as resolution, field, aperture, wavelength, and working distance, plus package, environment, cost, and volume constraints. If these are incomplete, PAO can develop the optical specification with you as the first step.
02What determines custom optical design cost and schedule?
The main drivers are requirement maturity, optical complexity, wavelength, tolerance sensitivity, analysis depth, optomechanical scope, prototype fidelity, custom-part lead times, and manufacturing-transfer needs. PAO defines assumptions, deliverables, decision gates, and the commercial work package before detailed engineering begins.
03Can the project begin under an NDA?
Yes. An initial fit discussion can remain non-confidential. Sensitive requirements, Zemax or CODE V files, CAD, drawings, test data, supplier information, and failure details can then move through an agreed NDA channel.
04Can PAO take over an existing optical design or stalled prototype?
Yes. PAO can establish the current configuration, review models and measured data, compare performance against requirements, identify the dominant optical, mechanical, calibration, or supplier risks, and define a focused recovery plan.
05Can PAO build prototypes and support manufacturing transfer?
Yes. Scope can continue from Zemax or CODE V design through ISO 10110 drawings, tolerance analysis, custom component sourcing, optomechanical integration, assembly, alignment, metrology, verification, supplier review, and production-transfer documentation.
06Which design files and engineering outputs can be delivered?
Depending on scope and customer licensing, deliverables can include Zemax OpticStudio or CODE V models, prescriptions, optical layouts, performance budgets, tolerance and Monte Carlo analyses, coating specifications, drawings, CAD interfaces, test plans, measured reports, and supplier-ready release packages.
09Start a conversation
Bring the application, targets, and constraints.
PAO can frame an architecture before requirements are complete, review an existing design, or take a custom optical design from concept to manufacturable hardware.