Variable power phase lenses.

A method is given to construct a phase lens capable of creating an optical aberration of variable power that is described by a single Zernike polynomial function whose meridional index is 1 or greater. The phase lens is created from two identical phase elements, each creating a single Zernike aberration, that can be rotated with respect to each other, thereby increasing the aberration effect from zero to twice the value of either. This is possible because these aberrations are vectorlike. Results are given from the testing of an example that was manufactured and designed to produce coma (Zernike term Z(3,1)).