Considerations on the Diffraction Limitations to the Spatial Resolution of Optical Transition Radiation

The interest in using optical transition radiation (OTR) in high energy (multiGeV) beam diagnostics has motivated theoretical and experimental investigations on the limitations brought by diffraction on the attainable resolution. This paper presents calculations of the diffraction effects in an optical set-up using OTR. The OTR diffraction pattern in a telescopic system is calculated taking into account the radial polarization of OTR. The obtained diffraction pattern is compared to the patterns obtained by other authors and the effects of different parameters on the shape and on the size of the OTR diffraction pattern are studied. The major role played by the radial polarization on the shape of the diffraction pattern is outlined. An alternative method to calculate the OTR diffraction pattern is also sketched.