Effect of aberrations and apodization on the performance of coherent optical systems I The amplitude impulse response

A systematic study was performed in which the effects of aberrations and apodization on the performance of a coherent optical system were investigated. The system performance was characterized by the modulus and the phase of the amplitude impulse response. The aberrations considered were defocus, spherical aberration, coma, and astigmatism. The apodizer was Gaussian in amplitude transmittance. The results of the study indicate that, within certain limits, the apodizer was effective in removing the sidelobes from the aberrated amplitude impulse response. This has significant implications for the performance of coherent imaging and beam-propagation systems.