We present and demonstrate the usefulness of new optical design procedures that take full engineering advantage of an optimum diffractive optical element (DOE), or kinoform, as a component of a practical system. The procedures described allow for the design of a general kinoform on a curved, aspheric substrate, also allow for an arbitrary profile of kinoform optical power with distance from the optical axis, and include the design of microscopic feature shapes to achieve high diffraction efficiency. A geometric model was developed to account for light that is not diffracted into the chosen design order and to quantify its effects on image quality.; The procedures introduced were followed from basic principles, through special techniques necessary to model the design concepts with commercially available lens design software packages, to specific example designs that introduce a new lens form, the hybrid refractive-diffractive thermally compensated lens. This lens has both image quality and focus position stability over large temperature ranges.; Specific examples are given, both for a moldable optical polymer and for germanium. Several sample kinoforms of excellent optical properties were made by direct diamond turning on a submicron precision lathe. Transmission wavefront quality and diffraction efficiency were measured and compared to the design prescriptions.; A one-material monolithic prototype lens was designed, fabricated, and thermally tested from 0{dollar}spcirc{dollar}C to 40{dollar}spcirc{dollar}C to demonstrate successful thermal stabilization of focus position. The structural simplicity of this new lens form makes it a good alternative for practical applications in manufactured electro-optic systems that are thermally stressed either by a wide range of environmental temperatures or by heat released by laser diodes or other electronic components.
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