Wavefront Coding: Jointly Optimized Optical And Digital Imaging Systems

Many of the limitations of traditional optical-only imaging systems can be eliminated with jointly optimized optical and digital imaging systems. Jointly optimized optical and digital imaging systems exploit the complementary aspects of optics and digital signal processing to form systems with characteristics nor possible with traditional optics-only systems. For example, in traditional imaging systems light gathering and large depth of field are competing goals and are inversely related. On the other hand, in optimized optical/digital imaging systems light gathering and large depth of field can be independent parameters. Instead of requiring a small aperture to produce a large depth of field, a large aperture and a large depth of field are both possible and practical. We call jointly optimized optical and digital imaging systems Wavefront Coded imaging systems. Concepts of Wavefront Coding are illustrated below through an athermalized, refractive, silicon/germanium IR imaging system with aluminum optical mounts subject to an ambient temperature range of-20 degrees C to +70 degrees C.