Induced axial and lateral color surface contributions.

Abstract

Induced aberrations in general are higher-order aberrations caused by ray perturbations of lower order, picked up in the preceding optical system. Therefore, in the case of color aberrations, induced influences can already be observed at the second order. They are generated by the preexisting first-order axial and lateral color. The analysis of relevant designs surface by surface to identify performance dominating lenses is a key method for understanding and optimizing those systems. Hence, in this paper a formula for the surface contribution of axial and lateral color including second-order terms is derived and discussed differentiating between intrinsic and induced parts. It is also shown how this can be used to deduce a thick-lens contribution of the second order. All of the approaches are based on the Seidel concept, which characterizes any arbitrary optical system only by the paraxial marginal and chief ray of the primary wavelength.