Photoreceptor Optics, Theory and Practice

Abstract

According to Snyder and Menzel (1975b), the goal of photoreceptor optics is to explain the structural basis of a photoreceptor’s absolute, spectral, directional, and polarization sensitivities. This review will concentrate, however, on the directional sensitivity, as this is the quality, together with the absolute sensitivity, most influenced by photoreceptor optics and most thoroughly investigated both theoretically and experimentally. For other reviews on related topics see Snyder 1975, 1979; Snyder and Love 1983; and Horowitz 1981.