Resolution enhanced sparse aperture imaging

The resolution of a conventional diffraction limited imaging system is proportional to its entrance pupil diameter. The primary goal of multiple aperture imaging is to enhance resolution by increasing the effective aperture diameter, while also minimizing the total image collection area, the latter being desirable because of the cost and weight of large single aperture imaging systems. Provided is a description of several performance metrics. Results of a computer study for several sparse aperture geometries, in particular the compact minimum redundancy arrays first described by Golay are shown. For each geometry, we have investigated the effects of varying both the number of sub-apertures and their relative spacings. Aberrations resulting from sub-aperture piston errors are also considered. The evaluation of these sparse aperture geometries, and their accompanying metrics, guide our present terrestrial imaging work as we explore the possibility of combining sub-aperture images through post detection processing