Singular-value decomposition for through-focus imaging systems.

Singular-value decomposition (SVD) of a linear imaging system gives information on the null and measurement components of object and image and provides a method for object reconstruction from image data. We apply SVD to through-focus imaging systems that produce several two-dimensional images of a three-dimensional object. Analytical expressions for the singular functions are derived in the geometrical approximation for a telecentric, laterally shift-invariant system linear in intensity. The modes are evaluated numerically, and their accuracy confirmed. Similarly, the modes are derived and evaluated for a continuous image representing the limit of a large number of image planes.