Simple and general method to calculate the dispersion properties of complex and aberrated stretchers-compressors

We propose a general method to calculate the dispersion of an arbitrary optical system. It is based on a non-linear extension of the ABCD matrix model, where each optical element is described as an operator rather than a matrix. The deviation from a reference ray in terms of transverse position, angle, and phase as a function of wavelength is propagated through any optical system. This allows the calculation of all orders of dispersion, and also gives some insight in the space-time coupling phenomena such as spatial and angular chirp. This method is well-suited to compute the linear dispersive properties of complex and/or aberrated stretcher and compressor setups. (c) 2008 Optical Society of America.