Abstract

This paper presents a method for the rapid computation of optical electromagnetic fields in optical systems with arbitrarily shaped, smoothly varying surfaces. The method uses the results of a generalized ray tracing routine to provide optical field polarization and wavefront curvature information. The result is a rigorously accurate approach for predicting the irradiance of scattered light fields. Equations for the approach are written in a form which removes numerical singularities, and groups of equations are written in a format ready for direct computerized lens design applications.

© 1988 Optical Society of America