Abstract

The Luneberg apodization problem on the determination of pupil function giving maximum central value of the point-spread function of an incoherent imaging system is considered subject to the condition that the total power in the pupil is fixed. It is shown that, irrespective of the shape of the pupil, any amplitude variations reduce the central irradiance and any phase variations further reduce it, thus showing that an unapodized–unaberrated pupil gives maximum central irradiance. Through consideration of several examples of apodization of centrally obscured circular pupils, it is shown that the effects of large amplitude variations on the central irradiance are small compared with the effects of small phase aberrations.

© 1980 Optical Society of America

Solution of the Luneberg Apodization Problems*

Richard Barakat
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 52(3) 264-275 (1962)

Luneberg Apodization Problems

J. Ernest Wilkins
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 53(4) 420-424 (1963)

Two Families of Apodization Problems

C. W. McCutchen
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 59(9) 1163-1171 (1969)

Ambiguity of the phase-reconstruction problem

A. M. J. Huiser and P. van Toorn
Opt. Lett. 5(11) 499-501 (1980)

Analytic Solution of Two Apodization Problems

David Slepian
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 55(9) 1110-1115 (1965)