Written by David P. Biss, Ph.D. The modulation transfer function (MTF) provides vital information about the imaging performance of an optical system. Measuring the MTF of a lens or lens assembly is a reliable way to assess lens quality and is used across multiple industries; including defense, … [Read more...]
Encircled Energy and Ensquared Energy on LensCheck™ Lens Measurement Systems
Encircled energy (EE) is an important metric for characterization of optical systems designed for light collection. These applications typically use an image-forming lens where the amount of energy collected on a detector is more important than the resolution or MTF of the imaging system. An … [Read more...]
Stray Light Measurement on LensCheck™ Lens Measurement Systems
Optikos is seeing continued interest in measuring stray light from our customer’s products and anticipates substantial growth in suppliers and end-users specifying and testing stray light performance. This is encouraging as it shows an increasing appreciation for the significance of stray light in … [Read more...]
Afocal MTF Measurement
David P. Biss, Ph.D. and Roy Youman Afocal systems, by definition, produce a virtual image projected from infinity (i.e., the output beam is collimated). Examples include visual optical devices such as binoculars and riflescopes, and afocal adapters that increase the focal length of camera … [Read more...]
Calibrating The Thermal Camera
As thermal cameras gain ground in the commercial market, testing becomes critical Dr. David A. Imrie, Optikos Corp. Print This Article Thermal imaging, once the domain of the defense sector, is finding applications in a number of commercial and medical fields. As more manufacturers join the … [Read more...]
Why Measure MTF?
By Peter T. Carellas and Stephen D. Fantone Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) has been also cited with measurement of performance of optical systems from the initial introduction of linear system analysis to this field. As the demand for higher quality, higher resolution optical systems has … [Read more...]
Evaluating and Comparing Camera Performance
By: Dr. Stephen D. Fantone, Dr. David Imrie and Dr. Jian Zhang Print This Article With cameras being used in applications ranging from consumer products such as PDAs, automotive rear viewing systems, and medical devices to military applications including thermal imaging and ranging systems, … [Read more...]
Finding Focus
The choice of criterion for determining best focus depends on the application. BY ROY YOUMAN Print This Article When testing lenses and optical systems, it is best to simulate the conditions of use while testing. Set the object conjugate correctly (infinite or finite), choose the correct … [Read more...]
MTF Metrology for High-NA Microscope Objectives
Peter Domenicali and Stephen D. Fantone, Optikos Corporation Reprinted from the September 2009 Issue of BioPhotonics©. To view full article with figures referenced, please open in your browser here. Microscope objectives represent an interesting case in the field of imaging performance … [Read more...]
How to Measure MTF
How to Measure MTF and other Properties of Lenses July 16, 1999 © Optikos Corporation, 1999 All Rights Reserved With the growing role played by optical devices in measurement, communication, and photonics, there is a clear need for characterizing optical components. A basic and useful … [Read more...]
