High order surface aberration contributions from phase space analysis of differential rays

Area of Science:

• Optics and optical engineering
• Aberration analysis
• Phase space methods

Background:

• Phase space methods are widely used for illumination and paraxial system analysis.
• Quantifying high-order surface aberrations traditionally requires complex methods like Aldis calculus.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate the utility of phase space methods for visualizing and quantifying surface aberrations of all orders.
• To validate the phase space method against established exact methods.

Main Methods:

• Calculation and propagation of a differential ray pair.
• Comparison with Aldis calculus for validation.
• Application to a triplet lens system for visualization.

Main Results:

• Phase space methods accurately visualize and quantify surface aberration contributions.
• The method provides a close approximation to Aldis calculus results.
• The phase space method is applicable to systems without symmetry constraints.

Conclusions:

• Phase space methods offer a powerful and versatile tool for analyzing surface aberrations.
• This approach extends aberration analysis beyond traditional limitations of symmetry.
• The method is a valuable alternative for understanding complex optical systems.