Parameterized modeling of spatially varying optical blur

Optical blur due to lens aberrations and defocus has been demonstrated in some cases to be spatially varying across the image plane. However, existing models in the literature for the point-spread function (PSF) corresponding to this blur are either parameterized and spatially invariant or spatially varying but ad-hoc and discretely defined. A parameterized model is developed and presented for a spatially varying PSF due to lens aberrations and defocus in an imaging system. The model is motivated from an established theoretical framework in physics and is demonstrated to be able to unify a set of hundreds of PSF observations across the image plane into a single 10-parameter model. The accuracy of the model is demonstrated with simulations and measurement data collected by two separate research groups. © 2014 SPIE and IS&T [DOI: 10.1117/1.JEI.23.1.013005]