Principles of optical processing with partially coherent light

Abstract

This chapter discusses principles of optical processing with partially coherent light. The coherence requirement, the modulating transfer function and the noise performance of the optical processing system under a partially coherent regime is discussed in detail. A number of important conclusions can be drawn concerning this technique: The most significant one is its capability of processing an image in a complex wave field as a coherent processor, and the ability to suppress coherent artifact noise as an incoherent processor. Another important aspect of partially coherent processing is the color image processing, for that the optical system is capable of exploiting the spectral content of the object. Finally, in contrast with its coherent counterparts, the partially coherent processor is generally economical and easy to operate. In spite of the flexibility of digital techniques, the partially coherent optical techniques offer the advantages of capacity, color, simplicity, and cost effectiveness. Further, the chapter explains that partially coherent processing is at the threshold of widespread application. © 1986, Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.