Abstract

The effects of many phase errors that are distributed in any manner over the aperture of the objective are evaluated in terms of a coefficient B that governs contrast in the image of an unresolvably small object. The object and its surround are assumed self-radiant. The corresponding formulation for the contrast coefficient is solved for n zones that have different, stepped phase errors and for n zones within which the phase error has parabolic dependence on radial distance from the center of the zone. The resulting formulas for B are so simple and the significance of B sufficiently broad that the method is advantageous for estimating the effects of phase errors which are too complex to be treated in a practical manner by other methods.

© 1964 Optical Society of America

Length of Self-Radiant Lines by Use of a Critical Point in the Image*

Luther W. Smith and Harold Osterberg
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 54(5) 595-598 (1964)

Optical Measurement of Self-Radiant Line Elements by the Method of Steepest Slopes*

Harold Osterberg and Luther W. Smith
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 54(3) 406-410 (1964)

Effect of Boundary Diffraction Wave in Coronagraph*

Kenro Miyamoto
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 54(9) 1105-1108 (1964)

Modulation Transfer from Lansraux’s Series*

Luther W. Smith and Harold Osterberg
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 54(4) 523-524 (1964)

Characteristic Functions for Special Image Formations and for a General Thick Lens

Max Herzberger and Donald R. Wilder
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 54(6) 773-790 (1964)