High frequency fields, refracted by a geometry containing a Wood lens placed at a certain distance from a planar uniaxial interface, are derived by using Maslov’s method. The geometrical optics approximation generally valid for high frequency fields fails in the vicinity of a caustic. Maslov’s method is a systematic procedure for predicting the field in the caustic region, combining the simplicity of the ray and the generality of the transform method. Numerical computations are made for the field pattern around the caustic by using Maslov’s method. The results are found to be in good agreement with those obtained using Kirchhoff’s approximation.
An analytical example in elementary functions is presented (2D Gaussian beam diffraction in free space), which demonstrates the divergence of the geometrical optics (GO) series when the conditions for its applicability are violated. This example shows that accounting for higher terms in GO power series leads to divergence and therefore becomes completely useless beyond the boundaries of GO applicability.
JavaScript is turned off in your web browser. Turn it on to take full advantage of this site, then refresh the page.