Asymmetric apodization for the comma aberrated point spread function

Abstract

This paper deals with the study of light flux distributions in the point spread function formed by an optical system with a one-dimensional aperture under the influence of the coma aberration. The traditional design of an asymmetric optical filter improves the resolution of a diffraction-limited optical imaging system. In this approach we explore the control of monochromatic aberrations through pupil engineering with asymmetric apodization. This technique employs the amplitude and phase apodization for the mitigation of the effects of third-order aberrations on the diffracted image. On introducing the coma wave aberration effect, the central peak intensity in the field of diffraction is a function of the edge strips width and the amplitude apodization parameter of a one-dimensional pupil filter, whereas the magnitude of the reduction of optical side-lobes is a function of the degree of phase apodization at the periphery of the aperture. The analytically computed results are illustrated graphically in terms of point spread function curves under various considerations of the coma aberrations and a different degree of amplitude and phase apodization. Hence, for the optimum values of apodization, the axial resolution has been analyzed using well-defined quality criteria.