Influence of total reflection on the imaging quality of optical systems

In the case of total reflection at a boundary surface between two different optical media, the ray reflected at the boundary is spatially shifted with respect to the point where the incident ray intersects the boundary. The light penetrates into the second medium, and the evanescent electromagnetic wave propagates along the boundary. The described effect is called the Goos-H?nchen effect. Our work describes the influence of the Goos-H?nchen effect on the imaging properties of planar optical systems, and a differential equation of a wave-front meridian that corresponds to a reflected bundle of rays is derived. It is shown that the wave front can be described by the d'Alambert differential equation. This equation makes it possible to determine the coordinates of individual points on the wave-front meridian. The influence of total reflection on the value of the Strehl definition of the reflected ray bundle, is also investigated.