DIFFRACT Examples - MM Research, Inc.

Optical System Simulation Software

Focusing of polarized light through a
tilted glass plate using an aspheric singlet

Disk tilt is one of the major problems facing designers of laser disk systems. This example shows the case of a high-NA, bi-aspheric lens focusing the collimated beam of a diode laser through a tilted disk substrate. The coma caused by the 1 degree tilt in this example turns out to be so large as to be unacceptable in practice.

In the above system the incident beam, a truncated Gaussian, is linearly polarized along the X-axis. The 0.55 NA lens is corrected for the thickness of the glass plate, but the 1 degree tilt of the plate causes comatic aberrations on the focused spot. The pictures below show the computed patterns of intensity and phase at the exit pupil of the lens, and the intensity distribution at the focal plane. The three pictures in each row correspond to the three components of polarization of the beam.

Distributions of intensity (top row) and phase (bottom row) at the exit pupil of the lens. From left to right: X-, Y-, and Z- components of polarization.

Distributions of intensity (top row) and log intensity (bottom row) at the focal plane of the lens. From left to right: X-, Y-, and Z- components of polarization.

Using the Ray_Trace option of DIFFRACT, you can simulate complex systems of lenses, mirrors and apertures. Study the effects of tip, tilt, and decenter of the various elements on the amplitude, phase, and polarization state of the beam as it propagates through your optical system.

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