The use of optical transfer function for assessing the quality of optical systems

Abstract

The optical transfer function (OTF) has proved to be a highly valuable aid in comparing and evaluating the quality of optical systems. The measuring instrument developed is briefly described. The OTF measurements agreed well with theoretical results obtained from lens data, especially for the modulation transfer function (MTF). With the aid of a model based on experiments, a threshold curve was obtained which enabled the results based on the MTF to be compared with those from conventional resolution tests. To enable workable focusing and quality criteria to be derived, an attempt was made to condense the profuse data resulting from the MTF.