Investigations of three-dimensional optical transfer functions

The performance of two-dimensional image processing systems has been well documented. In this thesis we study the performance of three-dimensional imaging systems. Such a study helps in understanding the fundamental restrictions of the propagation of three-dimensional (3-D) wavefields. The knowledge of the obtainable 3-D wave structures are useful for applications such as 3-D data acquisition, material processing, radiation therapy, radiative non-invasive surgery, 3-D microscopy and robotic vision. This thesis primarily deals with some investigations of 3-D optical transfer functions (OTFs). Specific emphasis has been made on the interpretation of 3-D wavefield distributions as an extension of 2-D defocused OTFs and also the interpretations of 3-D diffraction images from convolution relations.