Paraxial ray-tracing equations for optical systems containing triangular prisms.

Abstract

Conventional paraxial ray-tracing procedures are widely used for optical systems design and analysis. However, they are not applicable to multiple-dispersion-prism systems. Accordingly, the present study simplifies the equations given by the present group in a previous paper [Optik117, 329 (2006)OTIKAJ0030-402610.1016/j.ijleo.2005.10.004] to the form of 3×3 matrix equations for tracing paraxial rays in optical systems containing triangular prisms. The accuracy and validity of the proposed approach are demonstrated by means of four numerical examples. The results confirm that the proposed equations provide a convenient and practical tool for analyzing paraxial rays traveling through non-axially symmetrical optical systems containing triangular and rectangular prisms.