A novel method of high resolution imaging through random perturbation wave front

Abstract

A novel method is proposed for eliminating the effect of the traditional optical aberration on high resolution imaging by random perturbation wave front and digital image processing. A random phase mask, whose phase spectrum fluctuation is accordant with Kolmogorov distribution, is positioned near the aperture stop of optical system, making the optical aberration image become random perturbation image, that is, the intermediate image. The blind deconvolution algorithm based on maximum-likelihood estimation technique is used to restore the intermediate image acquired by a digital detector. The effects of optical aberrations and the noise on the restoration image are explored. To demonstrate the validity of the method proposed, the computer simulation and laboratory experiments are carried out for the imaging of the optical system with primary aberration. The results have shown that the present method is well suited for effectively improving the imaging quality of the optical system with certain aberration, thus making the optical system resolution close to or reach the diffraction-limit of the optical system.