| Abstract: | We report the visualization of the wavefronts of light in the focal region of an objective lens. The focused wavefronts are measured for the highest available numerical aperture, i.e, 1·4 oil immersion. The measurement is accomplished by scanning a scattering probe through the focal region of a lens illuminated by plane waves. The scattered light is coherently added to an external reference beam and focused into a point-like detector. The registered signal allows the determination of the three-dimensional shape of the wavefronts in the focal region and their evolution in time. |
