Abstract

Surface reflections from an off-axis parabolic mirror are analyzed in three dimensions applying the techniques of vector analysis and ray tracing. A He–Ne laser is directed onto the mirror surface and held fixed while the parabolic mirror is rotated through an angle of 360° on an axis that is parallel to that of the original paraboloid. The reflection from the mirror traces a closed figure in a plane perpendicular to the paraboloidal axis when the mirror undergoes one complete revolution about its center axis. The shape of this figure depends on the value of the off-axis distance and the focal length; consequently, this figure yields information about the parameters specified in the construction of off-axis parabolic mirrors.

© 1973 Optical Society of America

Erratum to: Analysis of He–Ne Laser Surface Reflections from an Off-Axis Parabolic Mirror

James D. Evans
Appl. Opt. 12(10) 2251_1-2251 (1973)

Imaging properties of off-axis parabolic mirrors

James E. Howard
Appl. Opt. 18(15) 2714-2722 (1979)

Transmitting characteristic analysis of antenna with off-axis parabolic rotating surfaces configuration

Jianyu Guo, Ping Jiang, Huajun Yang, Ye Niu, and Jiawei Xianyu
Appl. Opt. 56(9) 2455-2461 (2017)

Characterization of tightly focused vector fields formed by off-axis parabolic mirror

Xiahui Zeng and Xiyao Chen
Opt. Express 27(2) 1179-1198 (2019)

Caustic Surfaces and Irradiance for Reflection and Refraction from an Ellipsoid, Elliptic Paraboloid, and Elliptic Cone

David L. Shealy and Donald G. Burkhard
Appl. Opt. 12(12) 2955-2959 (1973)