Computation of the lateral and axial point spread functions in confocal imaging systems using binary amplitude mask

摘要

In this paper, a novel aperture based on Tolardo concept composed of a central clear disc surrounded by a series of black and white (B/W) concentric annuli of equal transmittance is presented. Different apodized apertures of different number of B/W annuli are suggested in order to improve further the three-dimensional resolving power of confocal imaging systems. Both the axial and lateral point spread functions (PSF) and the corresponding irradiances are computed in both cases of conventional and confocal scanning microscopes for the above-mentioned amplitude filters. These results of axial and lateral irradiances are graphically represented by constructing a computer program using MATLAB. The obtained results are compared with that obtained in case of circular, annular, and Martinez-Corral apodized aperture.