Inversion of the Debye-Wolf diffraction integral using an eigenfunction representation of the electric fields in the focal region

The forward problem of focusing light using a high numerical aperture lens can be described using the Debye-Wolf integral, however a solution to the inverse problem does not currently exist. In this work an inversion formula based on an eigenfunction representation is derived and presented which allows a field distribution in a plane in the focal region to be specified and the appropriate pupil plane distribution to be calculated. Various additional considerations constrain the inversion to ensure physicality and practicality of the results and these are also discussed. A number of inversion examples are given. (C) 2008 Optical Society of America.