Comparison of optical predetection processing and postdetection linear processing for partially coherent image estimation

摘要

A comparison is made between the effectiveness of optical predetection processing and that of electronic postdetection filtering for image-estimation applications. The results indicate that optical preprocessing is more effective than postdetection filtering when the object illumination is coherent or nearly coherent, whereas the reverse is true for incoherent illumination. Two methods for using the processing capabilities of the optics in conjunction with the processing capabilities of the postdetection filter are also presented. The theory is formulated by assuming stationary statistics for the objects. Results of computer simulations performed on nonstationary objects indicate that the theory can be applied with minor modifications to nonstationary objects.