Wavefront Coding: jointly optimized optical and digital imaging systems

摘要

Many of the limitations of traditional optical-only imaging systems can be eliminated with jointly optimized optical and digital imaging systems. Jointly optimized optical and digital imaging systmes exploit the complementary aspects of optics and digital signal processing to form systems with characteristics not possible with traditional optics-only systems. For example, in traditional imaging systems light gathering and large depth of field are competing goals and are inversely related. On the other hand, in optimized optical/digital imaging systems light gathering and large of field can be independnt parameters. Instead of requiring a small aperture to produce a large depth of field, a large aperture and a large depth of field are both possibel and rpeactical. We call jointly optimized optical anddigital imaging systmes Wavefront coded imaging systems. Concepts of Wavefront Coding are ilustrated below through an athermalized, refractive, silicon/germanium IR imaging system with aluminum optical mounts subjects to an ambient temperature range of -20 deg C to + 70 deg C.