Abstract

The three-dimensional optical transfer function for both circular and annular lenses in the presence of combined spherical aberration and defocus is investigated, with attention centered on its phase. Results show that it is possible to reduce the phase variation of the optical transfer function optimally for a circular lens by introducing defocus according to the condition of least confusion. In the appendixes it is shown how to calculate the in-focus and on-axis transfer function from the three-dimensional optical transfer function.

© 1994 Optical Society of America

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