Abstract
In a ray trace calculation of the rms radius of the spot formed in the image plane of an optical system by a point source object, a decision must be made as to how many rays will be traced to obtain the result. As the number of rays is increased, the rms spot radius is generally found to decrease, apparently approaching a definite lower limit as the number of rays becomes very large. This paper examines the question of how many rays must be traced and what their geometrical distribution within the aperture should be to approach the limiting value of the rms spot radius for an infinite number of rays within an accuracy of approximately 1%.
© 1974 Optical Society of America
Full Article |
PDF Article
More Like This
Cited By
You do not have subscription access to this journal. Cited by links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.
Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription
Figures (3)
You do not have subscription access to this journal. Figure files are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.
Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription
Tables (3)
You do not have subscription access to this journal. Article tables are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.
Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription
Equations (4)
You do not have subscription access to this journal. Equations are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.
Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription