Abstract
The utility and elegance of the Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) in photo -optical system design is well known. The difficulties involved in the measurement of this performance criteria, however, have restricted its practical application. The relationship between MTF and several of the more easily measured and specified resolution criteria, such as point and line spread functions, knife edge response, and encircled energy, is developed. A method of specifying resolution criteria determined by MTF analysis for the optical designer and the evaluation laboratory, is presented. The practicality of the method is enhanced by introducing certain simplifications to reduce the time required for computation. The Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) relates the contrast of the image of periodic sinusoidal object with the spatial frequency of the image. The MTF is independent of the nature of any real object, and is a characteristic of a particular photo -optical system. This system modulation transfer function is obtained by combining the transfer functions is each system component -- optics, image motion, atmospheric disturbances, photographic film, and even the ultimate observer of the final image. Each has a transfer function which may be determined and considered by the system designer. The simplicity and elegance of this technique has made it a primary
Published Version
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