01/04/23, 05:24 Point spread function - Wikipedia
Point spread function
The point spread function (PSF) describes the
response of a focused optical imaging system to a point
source or point object. A more general term for the PSF
is the system's impulse response; the PSF is the impulse
response or impulse response function (IRF) of a
focused optical imaging system. The PSF in many
contexts can be thought of as the extended blob in an
image that represents a single point object, that is
considered as a spatial impulse. In functional terms, it
is the spatial domain version (i.e., the inverse Fourier
transform) of the optical transfer function (OTF) of an
imaging system. It is a useful concept in Fourier optics,
astronomical imaging, medical imaging, electron
microscopy and other imaging techniques such as 3D Image formation in a confocal microscope:
microscopy (like in confocal laser scanning microscopy) central longitudinal (XZ) slice. The 3D
and fluorescence microscopy. acquired distribution arises from the
convolution of the real light sources with the
The degree of spreading (blurring) in the image of a
PSF.
point object for an imaging system is a measure of the
quality of the imaging system. In non-coherent imaging
systems, such as fluorescent microscopes, telescopes or
optical microscopes, the image formation process is
linear in the image intensity and described by a linear
system theory. This means that when two objects A and
B are imaged simultaneously by a non-coherent imaging
system, the resulting image is equal to the sum of the
independently imaged objects. In other words: the
imaging of A is unaffected by the imaging of B and vice
versa, owing to the non-interacting property of
photons. In space-invariant systems, i.e. those in which A point source as imaged by a system with
the PSF is the same everywhere in the imaging space, negative (top), zero (center), and positive
the image of a complex object is then the convolution of (bottom) spherical aberration. Images to the
that object and the PSF. The PSF can be derived from left are defocused toward the inside, images
diffraction integrals.[1] on the right toward the outside.
Introduction
By virtue of the linearity property of optical non-coherent imaging systems, i.e.,
Image(Object1 + Object2) = Image(Object1) + Image(Object2)
the image of an object in a microscope or telescope as a non-coherent imaging system can be
computed by expressing the object-plane field as a weighted sum of 2D impulse functions, and
then expressing the image plane field as a weighted sum of the images of these impulse functions.
This is known as the superposition principle, valid for linear systems. The images of the individual
object-plane impulse functions are called point spread functions (PSF), reflecting the fact that a
mathematical point of light in the object plane is spread out to form a finite area in the image
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plane. (In some branches of mathematics and physics, these might be referred to as Green's
functions or impulse response functions. PSFs are considered impulse response functions for
imaging systems. )
When the object is divided into discrete point objects of
varying intensity, the image is computed as a sum of the
PSF of each point. As the PSF is typically determined
entirely by the imaging system (that is, microscope or
telescope), the entire image can be described by knowing
the optical properties of the system. This imaging
process is usually formulated by a convolution equation.
In microscope image processing and astronomy,
knowing the PSF of the measuring device is very
important for restoring the (original) object with
deconvolution. For the case of laser beams, the PSF can
Application of PSF: Deconvolution of the
be mathematically modeled using the concepts of
mathematically modeled PSF and the low-
Gaussian beams.[3] For instance, deconvolution of the
resolution image enhances the resolution.[2]
mathematically modeled PSF and the image, improves
visibility of features and removes imaging noise.[2]
Theory
The point spread function may be independent of position in the object plane, in which case it is
called shift invariant. In addition, if there is no distortion in the system, the image plane
coordinates are linearly related to the object plane coordinates via the magnification M as:
If the imaging system produces an inverted image, we may simply regard the image plane
coordinate axes as being reversed from the object plane axes. With these two assumptions, i.e.,
that the PSF is shift-invariant and that there is no distortion, calculating the image plane
convolution integral is a straightforward process.
Mathematically, we may represent the object plane field as:
i.e., as a sum over weighted impulse functions, although this is also really just stating the sifting
property of 2D delta functions (discussed further below). Rewriting the object transmittance
function in the form above allows us to calculate the image plane field as the superposition of the
images of each of the individual impulse functions, i.e., as a superposition over weighted point
spread functions in the image plane using the same weighting function as in the object plane, i.e.,
. Mathematically, the image is expressed as:
in which is the image of the impulse function .
The 2D impulse function may be regarded as the limit (as side dimension w tends to zero) of the
"square post" function, shown in the figure below.
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We imagine the object plane as being decomposed into square
areas such as this, with each having its own associated square
post function. If the height, h, of the post is maintained at
1/w2, then as the side dimension w tends to zero, the height, h,
tends to infinity in such a way that the volume (integral)
remains constant at 1. This gives the 2D impulse the sifting
property (which is implied in the equation above), which says
that when the 2D impulse function, δ(x − u,y − v), is integrated
against any other continuous function, f(u,v), it "sifts out" the
value of f at the location of the impulse, i.e., at the point (x,y).
The concept of a perfect point source object is central to the
idea of PSF. However, there is no such thing in nature as a
perfect mathematical point source radiator; the concept is
completely non-physical and is rather a mathematical
construct used to model and understand optical imaging
systems. The utility of the point source concept comes from the
Square Post Function
fact that a point source in the 2D object plane can only radiate
a perfect uniform-amplitude, spherical wave — a wave having
perfectly spherical, outward travelling phase fronts with uniform intensity everywhere on the
spheres (see Huygens–Fresnel principle). Such a source of uniform spherical waves is shown in
the figure below. We also note that a perfect point source radiator will not only radiate a uniform
spectrum of propagating plane waves, but a uniform spectrum of exponentially decaying
(evanescent) waves as well, and it is these which are responsible for resolution finer than one
wavelength (see Fourier optics). This follows from the following Fourier transform expression for a
2D impulse function,
The quadratic lens intercepts a
portion of this spherical wave, and
refocuses it onto a blurred point in
the image plane. For a single lens, an
on-axis point source in the object
plane produces an Airy disc PSF in
the image plane. It can be shown (see
Fourier optics, Huygens–Fresnel
principle, Fraunhofer diffraction)
that the field radiated by a planar
object (or, by reciprocity, the field
converging onto a planar image) is
related to its corresponding source
(or image) plane distribution via a
Fourier transform (FT) relation. In
addition, a uniform function over a Truncation of Spherical Wave by Lens
circular area (in one FT domain)
corresponds to J1(x)/x in the other
FT domain, where J1(x) is the first-order Bessel function of the first kind. That is, a uniformly-
illuminated circular aperture that passes a converging uniform spherical wave yields an Airy disk
image at the focal plane. A graph of a sample Airy disk is shown in the adjoining figure.
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Therefore, the converging (partial) spherical wave
shown in the figure above produces an Airy disc in
the image plane. The argument of the function
J1(x)/x is important, because this determines the
scaling of the Airy disc (in other words, how big the
disc is in the image plane). If Θmax is the maximum
angle that the converging waves make with the lens
axis, r is radial distance in the image plane, and
wavenumber k = 2π/λ where λ = wavelength, then
the argument of the function is: kr tan(Θmax). If
Θmax is small (only a small portion of the
converging spherical wave is available to form the Airy disk
image), then radial distance, r, has to be very large
before the total argument of the function moves
away from the central spot. In other words, if Θmax is small, the Airy disc is large (which is just
another statement of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle for Fourier Transform pairs, namely that
small extent in one domain corresponds to wide extent in the other domain, and the two are
related via the space-bandwidth product). By virtue of this, high magnification systems, which
typically have small values of Θmax (by the Abbe sine condition), can have more blur in the image,
owing to the broader PSF. The size of the PSF is proportional to the magnification, so that the blur
is no worse in a relative sense, but it is definitely worse in an absolute sense.
The figure above illustrates the truncation of the incident spherical wave by the lens. In order to
measure the point spread function — or impulse response function — of the lens, a perfect point
source that radiates a perfect spherical wave in all directions of space is not needed. This is
because the lens has only a finite (angular) bandwidth, or finite intercept angle. Therefore, any
angular bandwidth contained in the source, which extends past the edge angle of the lens (i.e., lies
outside the bandwidth of the system), is essentially wasted source bandwidth because the lens
can't intercept it in order to process it. As a result, a perfect point source is not required in order to
measure a perfect point spread function. All we need is a light source which has at least as much
angular bandwidth as the lens being tested (and of course, is uniform over that angular sector). In
other words, we only require a point source which is produced by a convergent (uniform) spherical
wave whose half angle is greater than the edge angle of the lens.
Due to intrinsic limited resolution of the imaging systems, measured PSFs are not free of
uncertainty.[4] In imaging, it is desired to suppress the side-lobes of the imaging beam by
apodization techniques. In the case of transmission imaging systems with Gaussian beam
distribution, the PSF is modeled by the following equation:[5]
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where k-factor depends on the truncation ratio and level of the irradiance, NA is numerical
aperture, c is the speed of light, f is the photon frequency of the imaging beam, Ir is the intensity of
reference beam, a is an adjustment factor and is the radial position from the center of the beam
on the corresponding z-plane.
History and methods
The diffraction theory of point spread functions was first studied by Airy in the nineteenth century.
He developed an expression for the point spread function amplitude and intensity of a perfect
instrument, free of aberrations (the so-called Airy disc). The theory of aberrated point spread
functions close to the optimum focal plane was studied by Zernike and Nijboer in the 1930–40s. A
central role in their analysis is played by Zernike's circle polynomials that allow an efficient
representation of the aberrations of any optical system with rotational symmetry. Recent analytic
results have made it possible to extend Nijboer and Zernike's approach for point spread function
evaluation to a large volume around the optimum focal point. This extended Nijboer-Zernike
(ENZ) theory allows studying the imperfect imaging of three-dimensional objects in confocal
microscopy or astronomy under non-ideal imaging conditions. The ENZ-theory has also been
applied to the characterization of optical instruments with respect to their aberration by
measuring the through-focus intensity distribution and solving an appropriate inverse problem.
Applications
Microscopy
In microscopy, experimental determination of PSF requires
sub-resolution (point-like) radiating sources. Quantum dots
and fluorescent beads are usually considered for this
purpose.[6][7] Theoretical models as described above, on the
other hand, allow the detailed calculation of the PSF for
various imaging conditions. The most compact diffraction
limited shape of the PSF is usually preferred. However, by
using appropriate optical elements (e.g., a spatial light
modulator) the shape of the PSF can be engineered towards
different applications. An example of an experimentally
derived point spread function from a
confocal microscope using a 63x
Astronomy 1.4NA oil objective. It was generated
using Huygens Professional
In observational astronomy, the experimental determination of deconvolution software. Shown are
a PSF is often very straightforward due to the ample supply of views in xz, xy, yz and a 3D
point sources (stars or quasars). The form and source of the representation.
PSF may vary widely depending on the instrument and the
context in which it is used.
For radio telescopes and diffraction-limited space telescopes, the dominant terms in the PSF may
be inferred from the configuration of the aperture in the Fourier domain. In practice, there may be
multiple terms contributed by the various components in a complex optical system. A complete
description of the PSF will also include diffusion of light (or photo-electrons) in the detector, as
well as tracking errors in the spacecraft or telescope.
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For ground-based optical telescopes, atmospheric turbulence
(known as astronomical seeing) dominates the contribution to
the PSF. In high-resolution ground-based imaging, the PSF is
often found to vary with position in the image (an effect called
anisoplanatism). In ground-based adaptive optics systems, the
PSF is a combination of the aperture of the system with
residual uncorrected atmospheric terms.[8]
Lithography
The point spread function of Hubble
Space Telescope's WFPC camera
before corrections were applied to
its optical system.
Overlapped PSF peaks. When the peaks are as
close as ~ 1 wavelength/NA, they are effectively
The PSF is also a fundamental limit to the
merged. The FWHM is ~ 0.6 wavelength/NA at conventional focused imaging of a hole,[9] with the
this point.
minimum printed size being in the range of 0.6-0.7
wavelength/NA, with NA being the numerical
aperture of the imaging system.[10][11] For example,
in the case of an EUV system with wavelength of 13.5 nm and NA=0.33, the minimum individual
hole size that can be imaged is in the range of 25-29 nm. A phase-shift mask has 180-degree phase
edges which allow finer resolution.[9]
Ophthalmology
Point spread functions have recently become a useful diagnostic tool in clinical ophthalmology.
Patients are measured with a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor, and special software calculates
the PSF for that patient's eye. This method allows a physician to simulate potential treatments on a
patient, and estimate how those treatments would alter the patient's PSF. Additionally, once
measured the PSF can be minimized using an adaptive optics system. This, in conjunction with a
CCD camera and an adaptive optics system, can be used to visualize anatomical structures not
otherwise visible in vivo, such as cone photoreceptors.[12]
See also
Circle of confusion, for the closely related topic in general photography.
Airy disc
Encircled energy
PSF Lab
Deconvolution
Microscope
Microsphere
Impulse response function
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