What on earth is a ray and how can we use them best?

Gregory W. Forbes; Miguel Angel Alonso

doi:10.1117/12.321963

21 September 1998 What on earth is a ray and how can we use them best?

Gregory W. Forbes, Miguel Angel Alonso

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 3482, International Optical Design Conference 1998; (1998) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.321963
Event: International Optical Design Conference, 1998, Kona, HI, United States

Abstract

Although rays form the basis of both our initiative thinking and our numerical modeling of optical systems, we must remember that they are no more than mathematical constructs with a relatively tenuous connection to the physical world. What's more, certain aspects of their link to wave-based models of optical systems have always been problematic. For example, the limit to what rays can tell us about the associated wave field remains unclear. The current state of the art is reviewed and a framework is then outlined that offers a more direct appreciation of these issues and promises extended capabilities for ray-based methods. The new approach involves modeling wave propagation by using--as an intermediate tool--a windowed Fourier transform of the field.

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Gregory W. Forbes and Miguel Angel Alonso "What on earth is a ray and how can we use them best?", Proc. SPIE 3482, International Optical Design Conference 1998, (21 September 1998); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.321963

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