Abstract
The effects of many phase errors that are distributed in any manner over the aperture of the objective are evaluated in terms of a coefficient B that governs contrast in the image of an unresolvably small object. The object and its surround are assumed self-radiant. The corresponding formulation for the contrast coefficient is solved for n zones that have different, stepped phase errors and for n zones within which the phase error has parabolic dependence on radial distance from the center of the zone. The resulting formulas for B are so simple and the significance of B sufficiently broad that the method is advantageous for estimating the effects of phase errors which are too complex to be treated in a practical manner by other methods.
© 1964 Optical Society of America
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