Abstract

The diffraction image formed by an Airy-type objective when the object is a circular, uniformly self-radiant disk is found to exhibit the phenomenon of a secondary Airy disk when the radius of the object is near 1.2 Airy units. The time-averaged irradiance in the diffraction image is presented for radii up to 4 Airy units. A separate expression for the irradiance at the geometrical radius in the image shows that as the object becomes very large the value of this irradiance approaches one-half that at the center of the image.

© 1961 Optical Society of America

Diffraction Images of Disk-Shaped Particles Computed for Full Köhler Illumination

Luther W. Smith
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 50(4) 369-374 (1960)

Resolution of Shape of Self-Radiant Line Elements*

Harold Osterberg and Luther W. Smith
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 54(5) 599-605 (1964)

Diffraction Theory for Images of Disk-Shaped Particles with Köhler Illumination

Harold Osterberg and Luther W. Smith
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 50(4) 362-369 (1960)

Effects of Numerical Aperture on Contrast in Ordinary Microscopy

Harold Osterberg and Luther W. Smith
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 51(7) 709-714 (1961)

Length of Self-Radiant Lines by Use of a Critical Point in the Image*

Luther W. Smith and Harold Osterberg
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 54(5) 595-598 (1964)