Apodization

Apodization refers to the uniformity of illumination in the entrance pupil of the system. By default, the pupil is always illuminated uniformly. However, there are times when the pupil should have a non-uniform illumination. For this purpose, OpticStudio supports pupil apodization, which is a variation of amplitude over the pupil.

Three types of pupil apodization are supported: uniform, Gaussian, and tangential. For each type (except uniform), an apodization factor determines the rate of variation of amplitude in the pupil. See the discussion on apodization types and factors in the Aperture (system explorer) section of the System Explorer.

OpticStudio also supports user defined apodizations, which may be placed on any surface. Surface apodizations behave differently than pupil apodizations, because surfaces need not be located at a pupil. For more information on surface apodizations, see the User Defined surface.