Generalized propagation law of laser beam parameters through thin pure-phase transmittances

Abstract

As is well-known, pure-phase transmittances are not, in general, first-order optical systems. It thus seems that a simple ABCD-propagation law cannot be applied to this kind of transmittance. In other words, such optical elements could not be characterized by an overall ABCD matrix. The aim of the present contribution is to overcome this trouble. In fact, the propagation laws of the intensity moments of a laser beam through ABCD optical systems are generalized to include pure phase transmittances. This is done by representing the behaviour of such transmittances by means of a 4 x 4 matrix, M, which can be handled, to some extent, as the ABCD-matrices associated with ordinary first-order optical systems. This formalism enables the application of ABCD propagation formulae to cascaded optical systems containing pure phase transmittances. Matrix M is applied, in particular, to determine the intensity moments and the beam quality parameter at the output of special quartic phase transmittances, namely, thin and thick spherically aberrated lenses.