Analysis of optimal centroid estimation applied to Shack-Hartmann sensing

The problem of estimating the centroid of an incoherently imaged point with a CCD array is analyzed. An exact analysis is presented that uses the actual short-exposure function at the CCD instead of the traditional Gaussian approximation. The analysis shows that, for Poisson noise, the centroid variance depends on the CCD size and that truncation effects play a significant part in determining the optimum CCD size. The effects of this on a wave-front reconstruction formed by a Shack-Hartmann sensor are described. (C) 1999 Optical Society of America OCIS codes: 010.7350, 100.3020, 100.2980.