Abstract

It is well-known that the propagation of electromagnetic waves in free space is a physical phenomenon that explicitly depends on the wavelength of the light radiation. This fact results in the chromatic dispersion of the field diffracted by an aperture illuminated with a broadband source. For instance, the Fraunhofer diffraction pattern achieved at the back focal plane of a refractive objective is an example of pure lateral chromatic distortion, whereas axial and transversal chromatic blurring may occur at the Fresnel diffraction region.

© 1998 Optical Society of America