The present invention is directed to an arrangement by which the image
field of the illumination components and irradiation components of
ophthalmic instruments for diagnosis and therapy is improved. In the
arrangement according to the invention, one or more diffractive optical
elements is/are arranged additionally in the illumination beam path for
deliberate shaping of the image plane in the eye to be irradiated. These
diffractive optical elements can be located on the surface of other
optical elements, swiveled into the illumination beam path, and their
wavelength changed by filters. The image plane can be adapted to the
spherical contour of the eye so that the projected characters and
structures have a uniformly high image quality in the center and in the
edge area of the eye. The present invention is applicable for variable
illumination for diagnosis and treatment of the eye, in particular for
irradiation of the eye lens and other parts of the eye such as the cornea
or retina. The arrangement can be used in a great variety of ophthalmic
instruments such as fundus cameras, slit lamps, laser scanners, OPMI
instruments or surgical microscopes.