Optical path length difference of ray paths inside a reference sphere: a new approach for determining wavefront aberrations in axially symmetrical systems with an object at infinity

Abstract

A new, to the best of our knowledge, method is proposed to analyze the wavefront aberrations in an axially symmetrical system with an object at infinity. The study commences by determining the optical path length (OPL) difference between two ray paths from the object to the reference sphere. The proposed method is then used to explore the claim in J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 19, 1187 (2002)JOAOD60740-323210.1364/JOSAA.19.001187 that wavefront aberrations do not depend on the radius of the reference sphere. It is found that this claim does not hold when the image plane is non-Gaussian. The proposed approach is applied to determine the primary wavefront aberrations of an axially symmetrical system with an object at infinity. The numerical values of the primary aberrations (spherical, coma, astigmatism, and field curvature) are in excellent agreement with those determined by Zemax simulations. The superiority of the proposed method over Zemax in determining the distortion aberration is confirmed through raytracing. Overall, the proposed method provides a useful contribution to the development of optical systems for applications requiring high-resolution imaging.