On April 22, 2023, the Third International Conference on Freeform Optics and Application Technology, hosted by the Chinese Society of Optical Engineering and hosted by Shenzhen Technology University, jointly organized by Shanghai Polytechnic University, Fudan University, Tsinghua University, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Southern University of Science and Technology, and Shenzhen Institute of Human Factors Engineering Technology, successfully opened at Shenzhen University of Technology. This conference is an international comprehensive academic event on the latest research achievements in free form surface optics in recent years, promoting the research, technological development, and strategic planning of free form surface optics, and building an academic exchange and cooperation platform for various research institutions and experts and scholars.

It has been eight years since the previous conference, and this conference is unprecedentedly grand. It has received high attention from the academic and industry circles at home and abroad. More than 350 representatives attended the conference, involving more than 100 units such as universities, research institutes, industrial application units, and enterprises. Domestic and foreign experts and core research teams in this field gathered in Pengcheng to exchange and explore the technology and application achievements of free form surface optics. This conference is mainly divided into three parts: Conference on the Future Development of Freeform Surface Optics Industry, Conference Report, and Special Report.

This conference is chaired by Professor Zhang Wenwei, Dean of the Sino German Institute of Intelligent Manufacturing at Shenzhen Technology University, as the Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee, and Professor Li Lihua, Dean of the Sino-German College of Intelligent Manufacturing, as the Executive Chairman of the conference. Collaborate to organize meetings, arrange personnel, and ensure the smooth progress of the conference.

On the afternoon of April 21st, the "Future Development Conference of Freeform Surface Optics Industry" was held, with more than 100 participants on site. The conference included two activities. Activity one was a keynote speech, and the conference invited leading companies in the field of free form surfaces to give speeches on "Innovative Low Temperature Die Casting Technology Based on Nanocomposite Optical Glass Materials", "HUD Trends and Key Research Directions for Responding to HUD Trends" Speeches were given on "Freeform Surface Optics in Laser Applications", "Application of Freeform Surface Optics in Automotive Lighting", "Application and Optical Analysis of Freeform Surface in Reflective Materials", and "New Opportunities for Intelligent Ultra Short Focus Projection Products". Activity two is a roundtable discussion, where researchers express their views and opinions on the key issues of common concern. The on-site interaction is lively, and the representatives are free to speak.

At the conference on the future development of the free form surface optical industry, Wang Ruiying from the Sino-German College of Intelligent Manufacturing at the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Optical Key Component Precision Manufacturing Center reported on the laboratory's development direction, talent cultivation plan, and project situation. At the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Optical Key Component Precision Manufacturing Research Center (COCRC), undergraduate and graduate students were guided by dual mentors from the university and enterprise to carry out new materials and processes for optical key components Research on the principles and experimental verification of new processing/testing methods, and complete the preliminary research project proposed by the enterprise.

Li Lihua's team from the Sino-German College of Intelligent Manufacturing at Shenzhen Technology University has developed a non isothermal precision glass molding technology based on graphene like coating molds, which can be used to prepare precision glass optical components such as non spherical and free form surfaces. Solved the problems of high power, long time consumption, and high cost in traditional glass molding technology.

In January 2023, the laboratory successfully obtained the approval and construction of the Guangdong Province Undergraduate Teaching Quality and Teaching Reform Project. The rapid production equipment for precision aspherical glass lenses based on multifunctional graphene coating molds and the refractive index testing system for glass lenses based on wavefront interference information are key projects of the joint laboratory and have received support from multiple companies. The above content has attracted the attention and interest of all enterprise experts present, and many experts have visited the laboratory.

On the morning of April 22nd at 8:30, the opening ceremony of the conference was held. Professor Wu Xu, on behalf of President Ruan Shuangchen of Shenzhen Technology University, delivered a speech. The conference took the opportunity of jointly exploring good strategies for industry development, guided by the demand for national major engineering applications, explored the application and development of free form surface optics in different fields, exchanged the latest research results of free form surface optics technology in recent years, and sorted out major cutting-edge issues and development directions, Promote the development of related technologies and industries in our country.

In addition, Vice District Mayor Wu Zhiliu delivered a welcome speech on behalf of the People's Government of Pingshan District, Shenzhen, and Comrade Sun Nan delivered a speech on behalf of the Shenzhen Association for Science and Technology. Academician Fan Dianyuan delivered a speech on the development and future potential of free form surfaces in recent years. Finally, Academician Jin Guofan from Tsinghua University gave an online speech, introducing the early research on free form surface optics in China and the latest emerging scientific research achievements. He had high expectations for the field of free form surfaces and also wished the conference a success.

Speech by Professor Wu Xu

Speech by Vice District Mayor Wu Zhiliu

Speech by Comrade Sun Nan, a member of the Party Group

Speech by Academician Fan Dianyuan

Speech by Academician Jin Guofan

The keynote speech of the conference on April 22nd invited 14 leading domestic and foreign experts from Tsinghua University, Fudan University, Beijing Institute of Technology, Hong Kong Institute of Technology, Tianjin University, Utsunomiya University in Japan, and Ohio State University in the United States. Zhang Wenwei, Dean of the Sino German Institute of Intelligent Manufacturing, served as one of the hosts. The conference was divided into morning and afternoon sessions, focusing on ultra precision machining technology The manufacturing and measurement of free form surface optical systems were reported.

On April 23rd, a total of 12 special presentation sessions were held, covering key themes of design, processing, testing, and application of free form surfaces. More than 50 leading experts from academia and industry were invited to give wonderful presentations, including 3 teachers from the Sino-German College of Intelligent Manufacturing at Shenzhen Technology University. Here, the latest scientific research progress on free form surface processing and measurement was reported.

The theme of our report by Professor Shu Yang is "Research on the Preparation Process of Optical Microstructured Array Elements". A new low-cost and high-precision process chain has been proposed for manufacturing large-scale infrared diffraction lens arrays on refrigerant glass. A positive diffraction lens array was fabricated on a PMMA main substrate using an 8-step repeated hot embossing process. Then, a casting process is used to manufacture polydimethylsiloxane molds with negative characteristics. The diffraction lens array was successfully transferred from the main substrate to the PDMS elastomer, which was used as a mold for subsequent precision glass forming. Finally, the microstructure on the PDMS mold is replicated onto the refrigerant glass through non isothermal glass forming.

Teacher Wang Meng's report on surface modification technology and application based on femtosecond laser processing aims to study the mechanism and method of surface functionalization of femtosecond laser processed materials, and obtain reliable theoretical and experimental results on various materials, providing reference for the application of femtosecond laser material surface treatment in industrial production.

Zhang Xuhui's "Research on the Measurement of Free Optical Surface by Digital Holographic Microscopy" adopts a new method to measure free optical surface. This method obtains the thickness and surface information of a free surface through transmission and reflection of a digital holographic microscope, achieving complete structural measurement.

We conducted extensive exchanges and discussions. To encourage young scholars, the procedural committee experts of the conference also selected 10 representative student oral reports, showcasing the latest progress and excellent application achievements in this field.

This 3-day conference brought together experts, scholars, and colleagues from all over the country to deeply explore the theme of "Free Form Surface Optics Industry", the significant role of optical technology in contemporary scientific and technological development, the application and development of Free Form Surface Optics in different fields, and the latest research results in recent years. It also explored and sorted out major cutting-edge issues and development directions, focusing on promoting the transcendence of related technologies and industries in China.