Abstract

Many users of coherent imaging techniques would be delighted with a lens that produces not only a high quality Fourier transform but also a high resolution image of a specified object plane. Unfortunately there is a theorem in geometrical optics that prohibits the design of lens systems that can perform both these tasks flawlessly. To shed some light on the nature of this limitation several proofs of this theorem are presented. One of these proofs, based on a straightforward application of the wave equation without any reference to geometrical optics, shows clearly that this design restriction has a firm foundation in the basic laws of physics.

© 1989 Optical Society of America