The measurement of the optical transfer functions of lenses

After a short survey of the theoretical relations between the optical transfer function and the image aberrations and diffraction, the basic requirements for the measurement of optical systems are discussed. The necessary parts of such measuring devices are then described: these are the optical part, the electronics and data processing. The large number of measuring methods described in the literature are considered in three groups, namely (i) direct methods, (ii) methods using the Fourier technique and (iii) indirect methods.

After a description of some of the methods of each group, their common factors and their differences, their advantages and disadvantages as to costs and measuring time, and their sources of error as well as the attainable accuracy are discussed in detail. Further applications, which are strictly outside the theoretically valid scope, for example partially coherent or polychromatic light, are treated. The application of the methods for testing photographic emulsions is then described. Finally, the problems of quality criteria derived from optical transfer function curves are discussed.