Abstract

Polarization aberrations are variations of the intensity and polarization in the exit pupil of an optical beam and of the dependence of these aberrations on the field position of the object. Most optical systems display variations of intensity and polarization across the pupil due to the range of angles of incidence present at each surface. This residual polarization can be conveniently described for a rotationally symmetric system by a set of polarization aberration functions analogous to the Siedel aberrations of geometrical optics. These polarization aberrations describe the variation of a polarization Mueller matrix across the exit pupil of the optical system. A method for calculating coefficients for the low-order aberrations from a paraxial ray trace is referenced.

© 1985 Optical Society of America