Abstract

A variety of sets of orthogonal polynomials have been used in the study of optical aberrations, including Zernike polynomials, Chebyshev polynomials, and the Lukosz polynomials. Aberration triangles are often used in categorizing aberrations. This paper will provide an illustrated tour of optical aberrations using diffraction and geometrical point spread images as the landscape. We will show how the different configurations of orthogonal polynomials make natural “tour stops” in a journey through the aberration triangle.

© 1994 Optical Society of America