title: Aberrations introduced by a lens made from a birefringent material.
abstract: We incorporate an algorithm for ray tracing in birefringent media into a full ray-tracing package based on the Mathematica software application. To validate the package, we compare the calculated and observed wave-front aberration introduced by an optical system that comprises lenses fabricated from birefringent material. Using the package, we calculate the influence of the lens shape factor on the aberrations associated with the e-ray polarization and show that it differs significantly from that of the o-ray polarization.
authors.affiliation: School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9NS, Scotland. jp12@stand.ac.uk
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Lesso
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Duncan
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sibbett
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Padgett