Three-dimensional behavior of apodized nontelecentric focusing systems

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