An undergraduate experiment to illustrate spatial transfer function concepts in Fourier optics
Résumé
Fourier analysis is a key tool in physics and engineering in the
broadest sense and is particularly used in the field of optics to design
and study the properties of advanced imaging systems. Fourier optics as
a distinct topic is usually taught in final-year undergraduate or
first-year postgraduate studies, and a wide range of teaching approaches
have been used to describe and explain its key concepts. Concerning
practical work to accompany classroom lectures, the simplest laboratory
experiments are based on studying how the properties of some diffracting
aperture (pupil) are related to the corresponding Fraunhofer
diffraction pattern, but this approach usually does not consider in
detail the concepts of the optical transfer function and spatial
frequencies. We here describe a simple experimental setup that fills
this particular gap and that illustrates the spatial frequency-domain
response of a simple optical system using incoherent light. The
Modulation Transfer Function is directly measured for several different
pupil geometries and shows very good agreement with theoretical
calculations. This experiment clearly demonstrates spatial transfer
function concepts in Fourier optics, complementing and extending other
studies of Fourier transforms in physics that may consider similar ideas
in a time and frequency signal-processing context
Domaines
Optique [physics.optics]
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