Vectorial ray tracing scheme for arbitrary complex amplitude profiles through a given optical system.

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Computational Physics

Background:

• Accurate focal energy density analysis is crucial for optimizing optical systems using focused light.
• Existing methods may not fully capture the complex behavior of light at the focal plane.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a geometrical ray tracing scheme for computing focal energy densities and spot diagrams.
• To incorporate vectorial light properties for a more realistic simulation of focal spots.

Main Methods:

• A ray tracing model was developed using Python, incorporating lens parameters (radius of curvature, thickness, focal length, refractive index).
• The model simulates arbitrary beam profiles from a spatial light modulator and uses 4f relay lens pairs.
• It traces paraxial and skew rays, considering the vectorial nature of light for each ray.

Main Results:

• The scheme computes vectorial spot diagrams representing energy densities for different polarizations.
• Simulations were performed for both low and high numerical aperture lenses.
• Results show similarities and differences compared to established vectorial diffraction theory.

Conclusions:

• The proposed ray tracing method provides a realistic computational approach for focal spot analysis.
• This model facilitates the design and performance improvement of optical systems by accurately predicting energy densities.
• The incorporation of vectorial light properties enhances the accuracy of focal spot predictions.