THE SPATIAL FREQUENCY RESPONSE OF A TWO-DIMENSIONAL OPTICAL SYSTEM IN THE PRESENCE OF PRIMARY AND THIRD ORDER SPHERICAL ABERRATION

摘要

This report presents a study of the spatial frequency response of a two-dimensional optical system in the presence of primary and secondary spherical aberration. The integral representing the trans¬fer function is numerically evaluated for several values of third order spherical aberration ranging by quarter wavelength intervals from zero to two wavelengths of aberration at eleven different, equally-spaced focal settings from the paraxial to the marginal focus. Curves representing these transfer functions are given. They are also normalized ordinate by ordinate in each case by the unaberrated system's transfer function, in order to isolate the effect on the shape of the transfer function curves which is due solely to the specific amount of aberration present. Curves of these normalized transfer functions are likewise presented.