DECONVOLUTION FROM WAVE-FRONT SENSING - A NEW TECHNIQUE FOR COMPENSATING TURBULENCE-DEGRADED IMAGES

A new technique of high-resolution imaging through atmospheric turbulence is described. As in speckle interferometry, short-exposure images are recorded, but in addition the associated wave fronts are measured by a Hart- mann-Shack wave-front sensor. The wave front is used to calculate the point-spread function. The object is then estimated from the correlation of images and point-spread functions by a deconvolution process. An experimental setup is described, and the first laboratory results, which prove the capabilities of the method, are presented. A signal-to-noise-ratio calculation, permitting a first comparison with the speckle interferometry, is also presented. © 1990 Optical Society of America.