Abstract

Local wavefront curvature transformations at an arbitrarily shaped optical surface are commonly determined by generalized Coddington equations that are developed here via a local thin optical element approximation. Eikonal distributions of the incident and refracted beams are calculated and related by an eikonal transfer function of a local thin optical element located in close proximity to a given point at a tangent plane of an optical surface. Main coefficients and terms involved in the generalized Coddington equations are derived and explained as a local nonparaxial generalization for the customary paraxial wavefront transformations.

© 2009 Optical Society of America

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