One-dimensional iterative algorithm for three-dimensional point-spread function engineering

We present a new method with which to binarize pupil filters designed to co ntrol the three-dimensional irradiance distribution in the focal volume of an optical system. The method is based on a one-dimensional iterative algor ithm, which results in efficient use of computation time and in simple, eas y to fabricate binary filters. An acceptable degree of resemblance between the point-spread function of the annular binary filter and that of its gray -tone counterpart is obtained. (C) 2001 Optical Society of America.