Incoherent optical processing: a tristimulus-based method

Abstract

Optical systems which make use of incoherent illumination provide potential benefits in noise immunity over systems using coherent illumination. Because incoherent systems are linear with respect to intensity, however, complex number representations and operations are not readily obtainable. This paper proposes using the tristimulus (three-color) system as found in color television to establish a vector space, which then permits the complex number operations of polar-form multiplication and rectangular-form addition to be achieved with incoherent illumination. When these operations are combined in a hybrid (optical-electronic) processor using color television equipment, discrete approximations of the general 1-D and 2-D linear complex superposition integrals may be obtained.