Realistic computational studies of the illumination point spread function
Mentor 1
Jörg Woehl
Start Date
28-4-2023 12:00 AM
Description
The point spread function (PSF) describes the response of a focused optical image to a point object or source. This is central to all diffraction-limited light microscopy techniques and indispensable for advanced image interpretation and deconvolution. The approach used is of Born, Wolff, and Török which takes all plane waves penetrating the stratified media as a summation that can be used to represent the entirety of the PSF relative to the parameters. The group developed a rigorous, vectorial model for the illumination PSF that accounts for up to three stratified media, high numerical aperture objectives, and optional polarization optics in the illumination path. The model allows for a mismatch between refractive indices and coverslip thickness relative to the design parameters. The group will lay out the main theory behind the illumination PSF and present some application examples that are of interest to the microscopy community, including numerical studies demonstrating how system parameters impact the quality of the PSF. This includes changes in initial conditions, changes in the magnitude of the electromagnetic ray penetrating the media, as well as discussion of aberrations (distortion of the image space) that become present in the cross sections of the PSF. The work was carried out using PSFLab, the group’s free software package for calculating PSFs. As mentioned previously this will be of use to the microscopy community due to the changes in multiple parameters which can help reproduce and predict future models.
Realistic computational studies of the illumination point spread function
The point spread function (PSF) describes the response of a focused optical image to a point object or source. This is central to all diffraction-limited light microscopy techniques and indispensable for advanced image interpretation and deconvolution. The approach used is of Born, Wolff, and Török which takes all plane waves penetrating the stratified media as a summation that can be used to represent the entirety of the PSF relative to the parameters. The group developed a rigorous, vectorial model for the illumination PSF that accounts for up to three stratified media, high numerical aperture objectives, and optional polarization optics in the illumination path. The model allows for a mismatch between refractive indices and coverslip thickness relative to the design parameters. The group will lay out the main theory behind the illumination PSF and present some application examples that are of interest to the microscopy community, including numerical studies demonstrating how system parameters impact the quality of the PSF. This includes changes in initial conditions, changes in the magnitude of the electromagnetic ray penetrating the media, as well as discussion of aberrations (distortion of the image space) that become present in the cross sections of the PSF. The work was carried out using PSFLab, the group’s free software package for calculating PSFs. As mentioned previously this will be of use to the microscopy community due to the changes in multiple parameters which can help reproduce and predict future models.
