Young, M.
(2000),
Normalized Parameter Relating the Spherical Aberration of a Thin Lens to the Diffraction Limit and Fiber Coupling, Optics & Photonics News (Accessed May 8, 2026)
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Normalized Parameter Relating the Spherical Aberration of a Thin Lens to the Diffraction Limit and Fiber Coupling
Published
Author(s)
M. Young
Abstract
In this paper, we calculate the transverse spherical aberration TA of a thin lens and defines a normalized aberration Y equal to TA divided by the theoretical resolution limit. As a rule of thumb, (a) a thin lens that suffers only from spherical aberration may be considered effectively diffraction-limited as long as Y<1.6. Similarly, (b) the coupling efficiency of a Gaussian beam to a single-mode fiber may be high even when Y < 1.6, and, specifically, (c) the lens need by diffraction-limited only over a radius approximately equal to the radius (to the 1/e-point) of the Gaussian beam.Citation
Optics & Photonics News
Volume
11
Issue
5
Pub Type
Journals
Keywords
aberration, theoretical limit of resolution
Citation
Issues
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Created April 30, 2000, Updated October 12, 2021