Abstract

Incoherent optical processing may be analyzed by use of the cross-spectral density function, which gives the coherence as a function of wavelength. The cross-spectral density function may be propagated through a general optical system to yield the intensity in the final plane. Analysis of a specific optical processing system shows the effects of component placement, lens aberrations, and illumination bandwidth. In particular, the use of a grating in the input plane introduces a coherence function that allows the optical processing function to take place. Through this key, we may tie together a method of optical processing, a method of image subtraction, and the Lau effect.

© 1984 Optical Society of America

Incoherent optical processing: a tristimulus-based method

Richard F. Carson, John F. Walkup, and Thomas F. Krile
Appl. Opt. 23(18) 3138-3143 (1984)

Grating-based interferometric processor for real-time optical Fourier transformation

Anthony M. Tai and Carl C. Aleksoff
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Coherence measurement of a grating-based white-light optical signal processor

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Incoherent optical processing via spatially offset pupil masks

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Incoherent spatial filtering with a scanning heterodyne system

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