Wavefront - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wavefront - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Wavefront
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For the notion of wave front in functional analysis, see wave front set.
In optics, a wavefront is the locus (a line or surface in an electromagnetic wave) of points having the same phase. Since optical frequencies are so high, the temporal component of optical waves is ignored, and it is only the phase of the spatial oscillation that is described. Additionally, most optical systems and detectors are indifferent to polarization, so this property of the wave is also usually ignored.
Contents [hide]
1 Simple wavefronts and propagation
2 Wavefront aberrations
3 Wavefront sensor
4 See also
5 External links


[edit]Simple wavefronts and propagation
Strictly speaking, all optical systems can be described with Maxwell's Equations. However, given the above simplifications, Huygens' principle provides a quick method to predict the propagation of a wavefront through, for example, free space. The construction is as follows: Let every point on the wavefront be considered a new point source. By calculating the total effect from every point source, the resulting field at new points can be computed. Sophisticated computational algorithms are often based on this approach. Specific cases for simple wavefronts can be computed directly. For example, a spherical wavefront will remain spherical as the energy of the wave is carried away equally in all directions. Such directions of energy flow, which are always perpendicular to the wavefront, are called rays.
The simplest form of a wavefront is the plane wave, which when propagating can be seen to give rise to new plane wavefronts, as the corresponding rays are parallel to each other. Technically, this is referred to as a coll"