The relationship between the first Fresnel zone and the normalized geometrical spreading factor1

Abstract Conventionally, the Fresnel zone and the geometrical spreading factor are investigated separately, because they belong to different theories of wave propagation. However, if the paraxial ray method is used for establishing the Fresnel–Kirchhoff diffraction formula for a laterally inhomogeneous multilayered medium, it can be shown that the normalized geometrical spreading factor is inversely proportional to the area of the first Fresnel zone associated with the reflection point. Therefore, if no diffracting edge cuts the first Fresnel zone, the geometrical optics approximation represents the principal part of the wavefield obtained by Fresnel–Kirchhoff diffraction theory. Otherwise, the geometrical optics approximation has to be corrected by adding edge diffractions. It is also shown that Kirchhoff‐type migration and geometrical spreading factor correction both reduce the first Fresnel zone to a zone with unit area.