We unveil a relationship between generating a point spread function with a pair of conjugate phase elements and visualizing the modulation transfer function (MTF) of a single phase element for a variable focus error, at a tunable spatial frequency. We show that the defocused MTF of a pair of conjugate phase elements can be expressed as the modulus of the second order ambiguity function of a single phase element. Finally, we propose a tunable wavefront coding technique with a pair of quartic (4th power) conjugate phase elements.

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Interference fringes produced by the intersection of two plane waves in photorefractive strontium barium niobate crystal break in the transverse direction if the external electric field is high enough. For a certain relation between fringe spacing and nonlinearity strength, the tendency to regular pattern formation has been observed. We present a simple theory that qualitatively explains this effect.

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Abstract-We present the use of two asymmetrical amplitude masks, for generating a tunable Gaussian filter. The two masks work as a pair. By introducing a lateral displacement, between the members of the pair, one can tune the width of the Gaussian filter. This tunable mask is useful for controlling unwanted oscillations in the MTFs, which are associated with the use of phase filters extending the depth of field.

Abstract-We unveil the use of two helically distributed amplitude

We present a class of binary masks that encode, in polar coordinates, the values of a Hadamard matrix of order N. For order N ≥ 2, the binary masks increase the Strehl ratio vs. focus error by the factor N, with the highest possible light throughput. Since a Strehl ratio with high tolerance to defocus does not guarantee a modulation transfer function (MTF) with low sensitivity to focus errors, then, we show that for N = 16 the binary mask reduces also the impact of focus error on the MTF. Equivalently, the discrete binary mask has Fisher information with low variations to defocus.