1969/10/01 by A. Walther · 1 citation
Engineering · #Advanced optical system design
paper · doi:10.1364/josa.59.001325
An approximate solution to the problem of a light wave propagating through a lens is obtained by systematically replacing the integrals required to solve the problem by their stationary-phase approximation. This approach is shown to yield (1) geometrical optics in its eikonal form, and (2) a diffraction theory of image formation applicable to lenses with large apertures and fields.