Abstract

We have investigated the dependence of two-point resolution by an aberration-free Gaussian aperture on the real part of the complex degree of coherence. The Sparrow and the modified Rayleigh criteria have been used for the partially coherent optical systems, and a comparison between them has been made. To reveal important information concerning the characteristics of the image, the irradiance distribution from two mutually partially coherent point sources has also been computed.

© 1978 Optical Society of America

Two-Point Resolution with Partially Coherent Light*

Diana Nyvssonen Grimes and Brian J. Thompson
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 57(11) 1330-1334 (1967)

Sparrow Limit of Spectral Resolution in the Reflection Echelon and the Fabry-Perot Interferometer Having Surface Imperfections

K. Singh and G. S. Bhatnagar
Appl. Opt. 9(10) 2326-2331 (1970)

Application of Apodization to Increase Two-Point Resolution by the Sparrow Criterion. I. Coherent Illumination

Richard Barakat
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 52(3) 276-283 (1962)

Two-point resolution criterion for multiaperture optical telescopes

Steven M. Watson, James P. Mills, and Steven K. Rogers
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 5(6) 893-903 (1988)

Two-point resolution of a microscope: effect of nonuniform and nonsymmetric illumination using a semitransparent π-phase annular aperture

V. P. Nayyar and N. K. Verma
Appl. Opt. 16(9) 2460-2463 (1977)