Advanced Optical Imaging Theory

Abstract

In an optical imaging system or in an optical microscope, a basic optical element for imaging is a lens or a microscope objective. The imaging performance of a lens or a combination of lenses can be described by geometrical optics. However, predictions by geometrical optics fail to describe resolving power in an optical imaging system. Knowledge regarding resolving power of an optical imaging system is very important and crucial in many applications of optical imaging systems. To understand the imaging quality of a lens or an optical imaging system, one has to use wave optics which is based on the diffraction property of light. There are a number of excellent books that describe the imaging property of a lens using the diffraction theory [ 1.1-1.3]. However optical imaging theory of a lens has been advanced quickly over the last decade. In Section 1.1, some recent advances of optical imaging theory are summarized and Section 1.2 gives an overview of the book.