Antenna image quality evaluation: Part I--By an optical simulation method

An optical simulation method was used to study the effect of aperture illumination on image quality for a high resolution antenna. It was determined that an illumination close to uniform yields the best image, as measured by the similarity of the image to the object when similarity was judged by a group of human observers. The techniques used are described, and the results of the evaluation of a typical class of illuminations are given.