Imaging characteristics of a birefringent lens with primary spherical aberration under broadband illumination

This paper reports the imaging behavior of an optical system consisting of a uniaxial birefringent lens sandwiched between two linear polarizers suffering from primary spherical aberration. The optic axis of the birefringent crystal is perpendicular to the lens axis. The said system is illuminated with a polychromatic beam of light having flat-top spectral profile and the quality of image formed by the system is evaluated by means of the intensity point spread function (IPSF) and optical transfer function (OTF). The proposed system has high tolerance to primary spherical aberration under broadband illumination.