Conference Agenda

On April 20th 2026, one of the pioneers of information optics, Prof.

Adolf Lohmann, would have celebrated his 100th birthday. His legacy as scientist

and university teacher is living on with numerous of his original ideas having

found entrance into common practice in optical systems design nowadays. In

our contribution we will refer to some of the early works of Adolf Lohmann

and bridge the gap to actual research topics like phase retrieval, holographic

interferometry and optical reservoir computing.

Design-to-cost” is a critical factor in successful product development. To make the right decisions during product definition and implementation, various technical disciplines must collaborate effectively. Although the manufacturer or supplier of an optical system typically provides reliable cost estimates only on the basis of drawings, early cost comparisons and forecasts must be made as early as the optical design phase. The presentation names typical cost drivers for optical systems and highlights options for estimating costs from the perspective of the designer.

Fine grinding to produce high-quality components can be used to make the optical manufacturing chain more efficient and sustainable. A research approach that considers various topical aspects is presented, focusing on a ductile grinding regime. Application of fine tools with polymer-based bonds enables high surface qualities up to Rq < 10 nm with roughness reductions of over 90 % compared to conventional grinding.

The presented investigations focus on innovative cerium oxide polishing foils, which can be applied to polish hard brittle materials on a CNC-grinding machine that uses cooling lubricant instead of slurry. This allows for more flexible applications even on non-polishing machines and offers multiple customization options for the foil design. On this study the foils were produced and tested regarding polishing performance. First results showed that a roughness as low as 4 nm (Sq) is possible.

Diffraction gratings are the core component of many scientific instruments in applications such as remote sensing or astronomical spectroscopy. Increasing demands on spectral resolution, efficiency and low stray light performance are driving the development of more advanced spectrometers. While most current instruments employ reflective gratings, transmissive gratings can simplify the mechanical integration in linear systems by enabling straight-through, unfolded optical layouts with reduced alignment complexity. In addition, transmissive gratings allow design concepts beyond conventional blazed and Echelle-type gratings. However, manufacturing transmissive gratings is still a major challenge. This paper shows different design approaches and its manufacturing methods. Considering transmissive materials for the thermal infrared range, diamond machining, alongside classic lithographic approaches, emerges as a natural choice. Focusing on germanium as substrate material, the work examines the structuring of transmissive gratings by means of diamond machining.

Motion limits high-resolution optical imaging in lesion analysis, intelligent driving, and real-time imaging. We propose FRTCM to estimate optical causes and blur kernels. ASOC mitigates noise, KVPs estimate motion, and accelerated maximum likelihood enables fast, high-fidelity reconstruction. Simulations and experiments show KVP error below 5%.