Optical System Design for Off-Axis Polarization Super-Resolution Imaging with Four Sub-Apertures

We propose a dual-aperture, simultaneous-polarization super-resolution imaging system that combines a total internal reflection optical architecture with a digital micromirror device (DMD) for broadband, high-resolution imaging. The system captures multiple polarization states simultaneously with a single detector and offers a compact, lightweight design. Using reflective Wassermann–Wolf differential equations and Seidel aberration theory, we establish astigmatism-correction boundary conditions and apply iterative optimization to jointly correct spherical aberration, coma, astigmatism, and distortion. Because distortion critically affects super-resolution reconstruction by causing mirror–pixel misregistration, we further introduce a custom merit function to tightly constrain chief-ray positions for each sub-aperture and field point on intermediate and final image planes, effectively suppressing distortion. The final design achieves F/2.5, grid distortion below ±0.5%, and near-diffraction-limited performance in all polarization channels. Tolerance analysis of the four sub-apertures confirms that imaging requirements are satisfied, demonstrating robust high-resolution polarization imaging across multiple polarization states.