Spherical aberration it is to use a single aspheric lens. "Positive" spherical aberration means peripheral rays are bent too much. "Negative" spherical aberration means peripheral rays are not bent enough. The effect is proportional to the fourth power of the diameter and inversely proportional to the third power of the focal length, so it is much more pronounced at short focal ratios, i.e., "fast" lenses. In lens systems, the effect can be minimized using special combinations of convex and concave lenses, as well as using aspheric lenses or aplanatic lenses. For simple designs one can sometimes calculate parameters that minimize spherical aberration.
Focal cloud Focal cloud A focal cloud is the collection of focal points of an "imperfect" lens or parabolic reflector whether optical, electrostatic or electromagnetic. This includes parabolic antennas and lens-type reflective antennas of all kinds. The effect is analogous to the circle of confusion in photography. In a perfect lens or parabolic reflector, rays parallel to the device's axis striking the lens or reflector all pass through a single point, the focal point. In an imperfectly constructed lens or reflector, rays passing through different parts of the element do not converge to a single point but have different focal points. The