New apodizers that arbitrarily decrease sensitivity to defocusing or to the variation of spherical aberration

Abstract

Two families of pupil amplitude filters, or apodizers, are devised for rotationally symmetric optical systems. One type of apodizer, pertaining to systems with circular pupils, arbitrarily reduces their sensitivity to the variation of primary spherical aberration, when this is combined with defocusing to optimally compensate for the aberration. The other type of apodizer, pertaining to systems with slit pupils, arbitrarily extends their depth of focus.