Advancing Freeform Optics Through Collaboration: Inside the Vision and Impact of CeFO

Freeform optics has become a critical enabler of compact, high‑performance optical systems across applications including near‑eye displays, imaging instrumentation, and aerospace and defense systems. However, the adoption of freeform surfaces has historically been constrained by gaps in optical design methodologies, fabrication control, and metrology capabilities [1].

The Center for Freeform Optics (CeFO) was established to address these limitations through coordinated, precompetitive research spanning the full freeform optics workflow. As part of our partnership with CeFO, we highlight the technical drivers behind the center’s formation, its collaborative research model, and its continuing impact on the optical design community.

Figure 1. Wireframe or mesh visualization of a freeform surface

System‑Level Barriers to Freeform Optics Adoption

Early freeform optics research demonstrated clear performance and packaging advantages over rotationally symmetric designs, particularly for compact systems. Designers recognized the potential of nontraditional surface shapes to, in some cases reduce system volume, and in others cases improve aberration control, and increase design freedom. However, design capability outpaced supporting infrastructure.

Figure 2. A comparison of a rotationally-symmetric versus an all-reflective freeform viewfinder: (a) rotationally-symmetric 235 g lens adapted from US Patent 2,549,158 (b) all-reflective 51g freeform optics viewfinder (4.6x lighter) [Courtesy of Dr. Aaron Bauer, University of Rochester][2]

At the design level, structured approaches to defining, optimizing, and tolerancing freeform surfaces within full optical systems were still immature. Fabrication introduced additional risk: specifications intended to produce smooth freeform mirrors often resulted in components with mid‑spatial frequency errors, manifesting as diffractive effects that compromised system performance. At the same time, metrology solutions capable of accurately characterizing freeform surfaces were limited, restricting feedback loops between design, manufacturing, and verification.

These challenges underscored the need for coordinated progress across optical design theory, fabrication processes, and metrology techniques. This realization did not emerge in isolation—it was shaped by sustained experience at the intersection of research prototypes and deployable optical systems.

From Individual Research to a Dedicated Center

Dr. Jannick Rolland’s early research experience with freeform optics directly informed the creation of CeFO. Prior to joining the Institute of Optics at the University of Rochester in 2009, her work at CREOL at the University of Central Florida focused in part on freeform optics for near‑eye display systems. Through this research, it became evident that advancing freeform optics required a shift from isolated investigations to a broader, integrated research effort.

Upon relocating to Rochester, Dr. Rolland leveraged institutional support from the Institute of Optics and the Department of Mechanical Engineering, as well as complementary expertise in optical fabrication and metrology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (a partner university in CeFO), to establish a center focused specifically on freeform optics. A key collaborator in this effort was the late Dr. Kevin Thompson, an expert in optical system design and Director of Engineering at then what was Optical Research Associates. Dr. Thompson held a joint faculty appointment at the University of Rochester and his extensive industry engagement provided critical insight into emerging system‑level requirements and adoption barriers. Dr. Thompson’s pioneer work on the aberrations of misaligned systems [3], which inherently break symmetry, revealed through exploratory experiments to be the foundation for the aberrations induced by freeform optical elements [4]

Figure 3. Goergen Hall opening in 2008 (a) outside building (b) Munnerlyn atrium

A Collaborative Industry–Academic Model

CeFO was launched with seven founding members: Air Force Research Laboratory, Ball Aerospace, OptiPro, PolymerPlus, Rochester Precision Optics, SCHOTT, and ZYGO. Together, these organizations represented system integrators, manufacturers, materials suppliers, and metrology experts—enabling cross‑disciplinary problem solving.

Figure 4. CeFO’s collaborative research model connects industry, academia, and government partners to advance freeform optics through precompetitive research and shared technical expertise.

The center’s collaborative structure emphasized precompetitive research, allowing members to jointly develop methods and capabilities applicable across multiple markets. Despite subsequent acquisitions and organizational changes among several founding members, CeFO rapidly expanded to a standing membership of more than 17 organizations and continues to grow.

Support from the Air Force Research Laboratory has been central to advancing the technology readiness level of freeform optics, helping bridge the gap between academic research and deployable optical systems.

A Technical Vision for Freeform Optics

CeFO’s guiding vision is that compact, affordable, and high‑performance optical systems will play an increasingly central role in future precision technologies. Freeform optics is a key enabling technology for this vision, provided that system‑level challenges can be addressed consistently and repeatably.

In addition to advancing research, CeFO prioritizes workforce development. Training optical engineers who understand freeform surface design in the context of fabrication constraints, metrology limitations, and system assembly and testing, is essential to sustaining long‑term innovation within the optics industry.

The Role of Optical Design Software in Freeform Workflows

Modern optical design software is fundamental to translating freeform concepts into manufacturable systems. Today’s tools support advanced freeform surface representations, system‑level optimization, tolerancing, and performance analysis methods that incorporate real‑world constraints.

Simulation, verification, and tolerance sensitivity analysis enable designers to evaluate freeform solutions earlier and more reliably, reducing risk as designs transition to fabrication. These capabilities directly support CeFO’s mission to align freeform optics research with practical system implementation [5].

Figure 5. Optimizing a freeform mirror system in CODE V

Looking Ahead

The Center for Freeform Optics exemplifies how collaborative research can accelerate progress in complex, interdisciplinary technologies. By uniting academia, industry, and government partners, CeFO continues to advance freeform optics from research innovation to practical engineering solutions.

As system requirements drive demand for increasingly compact and capable optical designs, efficient broadband solutions uniquely supported by all-reflective unobscured solutions, sustained collaboration across the freeform optics ecosystem will remain essential.

References:

1. Rolland, J.P., M.A. Davies, T.J. Suleski, C. Evans, A. Bauer, J.C. Lambropoulos, and K. Falaggis “Freeform optics for imaging” Optica 8(2), 161-176 (2021).
2. Bauer, A., M. Pesch, J. Muschaweck, F. Leuplet, and J.P. Rolland, “All-reflective electronic viewfinder enabled by freeform optics”, Optics Express 27(21), 30597-30605 (2019).
3. Thompson K., "Description of the third-order optical aberrations of near-circular pupil optical systems without symmetry," J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 22, 1389-1401 (2005)
4. Fuerschbach, K., J.P. Rolland, and K.P. Thompson, “Theory of Aberration Fields for General Optical Systems with Freeform Surfaces” Optics Express 22(22) 26585-26606 (2014).
5. Bauer, A., N. Takaki, and J. P. Rolland, “Design methods for imaging with freeform optics” Optica 12(11), 1775-1793 (2025).

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