Abstract

The method of measurement of the transfer function of an optical system using a wavefront-shearing interferometer to solve the optical transfer integral ∫∫(x+s/2, y)f*(x−s/2, y)dxdy is now well known. It is very important in using an interferometer in this way that there should be no tilt between the two sheared wavefronts. To this end a new form of interferometer has been designed and constructed in which there is self-compensation for tilt, so that changes in the orientations of the beam splitter and mirrors do not affect the parallelism of two wavefronts leaving the interferometer. Good agreement between the measured and calculated modulation transfer functions for a defocused optical system proved that the instrument is capable of measuring the modulation transfer functions of optical systems in monochromatic light.

© 1964 Optical Society of America

Two Methods of Measuring Optical Transfer Functions with an Interferometer*†

Anthony J. Montgomery
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 56(5) 624-629 (1966)

Measurement of Modulation Transfer Functions in the Presence of Astigmatism*†

Anthony J. Montgomery
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 54(4) 519-522 (1964)

A New Type of Shearing Interferometer for the Measurement of Transfer Functions of the Microscope Objective

Tadao Tsuruta
Appl. Opt. 2(4) 371-378 (1963)

Measurement of Transfer Functions of Photographic Objectives by Means of a Polarizing Shearing Interferometer

Tadao Tsuruta
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 53(10) 1156-1161 (1963)

Modulation Transfer Function Associated with Image Transmission through Turbulent Media

R. E. Hufnagel and N. R. Stanley
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 54(1) 52-61 (1964)