Design of diffractive optical surfaces within the nonimaging SMS design method

The Simultaneous Multiple Surface (SMS) method was initially developed as a design method in Nonimaging Optics and later, the method was extended for designing Imaging Optics. We show an extension of the SMS method to diffractive surfaces. Using this method, diffractive kinoform surfaces are calculated simultaneously and through a direct method, i. e. it is not based in multi-parametric optimization techniques. Using the phase-shift properties of diffractive surfaces as an extra degree of freedom, only N/2 surfaces are needed to perfectly couple N one parameter wavefronts. Wavefronts of different wavelengths can also be coupled, hence chromatic aberration can be corrected in SMS-based systems. This method can be used by combining and calculating simultaneously both reflective, refractive and diffractive surfaces, through direct calculation of phase and refractive/reflective profiles. Representative diffractive systems designed by the SMS method are presented.