Axial irradiance and entropy of holographic optical elements under illumination with quasi-monochromatic light

The chromatic sensitivity of holographic optical elements for use in optical interconnect systems is quantified using an entropy merit function. The influence of broad-band illumination on axial irradiance and intensity is studied showing that the best imaging point obtained with the minimum-entropy principle is stationary when a holographic optical element is reconstructed with a narrow special Gaussian shape. A new merit function that takes into account the axial irradiance and the entropy function is introduced. This new function is used to obtain the best imaging plane in the sense of minimal aberrations and maximum axial irradiance.