Coherence Theory Solution to the Pinhole Camera

doi:10.1117/3.2303.ch15

Book: The New Physical Optics Notebook: Tutorials in Fourier Optics

Editor(s): George O. Reynolds; John B. DeVelis; George B. Parrent Jr.; Brian J. Thompson

Published: 1989

https://doi.org/10.1117/3.2303.ch15

Abstract

To illustrate some of the techniques used in solving propagation problems, the formalism of coherence theory developed in Chapters 10 and 11 is applied to a simple image formation system - a pinhole camera. Theoretical predictions are compared with typical experimental results. As discussed in Chapter 11, the quantity of interest in coherence theory is a cross-correlation function between the complex amplitude of the optical field at two separate space-time points. For many problems (including those of image formation) in which polarization effects are not important, the optical field can be treated as a scalar quantity.