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Miscellaneous about the simulation and evaluation of foci |
N. Lindlein
Institute of Optics, Information and Photonics (Max Planck Research group) of the university of Erlangen-Nürnberg
e-mail: norbert.lindlein@optik.uni-erlangen.de
norbert.lindlein@optik.uni-erlangen.de |
The simulation of the intensity distribution in the focus of a lens is a well-known thing and it seems to be very easy. However, there are also some well-known effects for lenses with small Fresnel numbers (e.g. the focal shift along the optical axis) or for lenses with a very high numerical aperture (polarization dependence of the focus) which are not included in conventional point spread function calculations. Even if the simulation is correct it is sometimes not so easy to give a general criterion about the “quality” of the focus. There is the possibility to take the diameter of the central maximum, or the radius of a circular area with an encircled energy of about 84%, or something else.
This paper will review several numerical simulation methods (mostly wave-optical methods but also in combination with geometrical optics) and compare the results using different evaluation criteria.
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Keywords:
Theoretical Foundations, Diffraction Theory, Optical Design |
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