Modeling highly aspherical optical surfaces using a new polynomial formalism into Zemax

We developed a new mathematical formalism to model highly aspherical optical surfaces opening the possibility to explore innovative optical designs. This formalism is based on Bernstein polynomials allowing to describe from low to high order deformations of the optical surface. It has been implemented into Zemax making use of the User-Defined Surface (UDS-DLL) Zemax capability. In this case, the mathematical definition of the surface is imported into Zemax then allowing to apply classical optimization and analysis functionalities. This paper presents the UDS-DLL tool based on Bernstein polynomials together with an initial optical analysis performed to evaluate the gain obtained in using such a new formalism.