OPTICAL PROCESSING METHOD AND APPARATUS

摘要

A method of and apparatus for optically processing a source image is described with particular application in a two-pass joint transform correlator. A representation of a composite image, for example displayed on a spatial light modulator (2), is projected using coherent light (5) through optical apparatus (6) arranged to provide a Fourier transform of the composite image at an image detector(3). The composite image comprises the source image and a filter function image. Portions (2c) of the source image are interleaved with portions (2d) of the filter function image, and possibly also null portions (2b). Such interleaving may provide for spatial separation of a resulting image detected at a detector, for example after a second pass through the optical apparatus (6).