SHARPNESS CHANGES OF GAUSSIAN BEAMS INDUCED BY SPHERICALLY ABERRATED LENSES

Sharpness changes of the spatial profile of a gaussian beam induced by spherically aberrated lenses are investigated in terms of the so-called kurtosis parameter. It is shown both theoretically and experimentally that, after a single aberrated lens, it is possible to get flatter and sharper beam intensity distributions than the input gaussian beam depending on the plane where the field is observed. Agreement between analytical and experimental results is discussed.