Three-dimensional behavior of apodized nontelecentric focusing systems

The scaler field in the focal volume of nontelecentric apodized focusing systems cannot be accurately described by the Debye integral representation. By use of the Fresnel-Kirchhoff diffraction formula it is found that, if the aperture stop is axially displaced, the focal-volume structure is tuned. We analyze the influence of the apodizing function and find that, whereas axially superresolving pupil filters are highly sensitive to the focal-volume reshaping effect, axially apodizing filters are more inclined to the focal-shift effect. (C) 2001 Optical Society of America.