Abstract

Optical systems are currently evaluated by use of ray-tracing techniques to extract performance quantities such as aberration and spot size. To improve on the use of optical equations, we formulate various important optical functions using a 4 × 4 homogeneous transformation matrix to design and analyze skew rays that cross flat optical boundary surfaces. We address three important topics: (1) the direction of a reflected or refracted ray is determined according to Snell’s law, (2) sensitivity analysis expresses differential changes of reflected or refracted rays in terms of differential changes of incident rays, and (3) aberration of polychromatic light is presented analytically. A solid-glass corner cube and a Pechan prism are used to demonstrate the validity of the developed methodology.

© 2003 Optical Society of America

Analysis and design of optical systems by use of sensitivity analysis of skew ray tracing

Psang Dain Lin and Chia-Hung Lu
Appl. Opt. 43(4) 796-807 (2004)

Prism design based on changes in image orientation

Chuang-Yu Tsai and Psang Dain Lin
Appl. Opt. 45(17) 3951-3959 (2006)

Analysis and design of prisms using the derivatives of a ray. Part I: derivatives of a ray with respect to boundary variable vector

Psang Dain Lin
Appl. Opt. 52(18) 4137-4150 (2013)

Sufficient conditions for the avoidance of spectral dispersion in optical prisms

Psang Dain Lin
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 33(7) 1257-1266 (2016)

Design of optical systems using derivatives of rays: derivatives of variable vector of spherical boundary surfaces with respect to system variable vector

Psang Dain Lin
Appl. Opt. 52(30) 7271-7287 (2013)