Reflected image of a strongly focused spot

We describe the reflection of a strongly focused beam from an interface between two dielectric media. If the beam is incident from the optically denser medium, the image generated by the reflected light is strongly aberrated. This situation is encountered in high-resolution confocal microscopy and data sampling based on solid immersion lenses and oil immersion objectives. The origin of the observed aberrations lies in the nature of total internal reflection, for which there is a phase shift between incident and reflected waves. This phase shift displaces the apparent reflection point beyond the interface, similarly to the Goos-Hanchen shift. (C) 2001 Optical Society of America.