Wave optical simulation of retinal images in laser safety evaluations

Lasers with wavelengths in the visible and near infrared region, pose a potential hazard to vision as the radiation can be focused on the retina. The laser safety standard IEC 60825–1:2014 provides limits and evaluation methods to perform a classification for such systems. An important parameter is the retinal spot size which is described by the angular subtense of the apparent source. In laser safety evaluations, the radiation is often described as a Gaussian beam and the image on the retina is calculated using the wave optical propagation through a thin lens. For coherent radiation, this method can be insufficient as the diffraction effects of the pupil aperture influence the retinal image. In this publication, we analyze these effects and propose a general analytical calculation method for the angular subtense. The proposed formula is validated for collimated and divergent Gaussian beams.