Using wavefront sensor information in image post-processing to improve the resolution of telescopes with small aberrations

摘要

Abstract: Due to mechanical aspects of fabrication, launch, and operational environment, space telescope optics can suffer from unforseen aberrations, detracting from their intended diffraction-limited performance goals. Presented here are the results of a simulation study designed to explore how wavefront aberration information could be used in post- processing to improve the effective resolution of such telescopes. Knowledge of the telescope pupil aberration can be effectively used in a post-processing paradigm referred to as deconvolution from wavefront sensing (DWFS). Simulation results show that even when relatively noisy wavefront sensor information is used on images experiencing up to 10% of a wave root-mean-squared (RMS) of unspecified wavefront error, the signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) of the optical transfer function (OTF) can be increased by a factor of 1.5, and RMS OTF phasor angle errors can be approximately cut in half, across a wide range of spatial frequencies. Post-processing consisted of correction of the Fourier phase of the image spectra using information from wavefront sensing, without the use of inverse filtering or adaptive optics compensation. !32