Experimental results for improving the matrix condition using a hybrid optical system

We present preliminary experimental results for implementing the "blurred trajectories" method on three parallel optics (PO) systems. The "main" system and "auxiliary" optics were simple laboratory graded lenses attached to an iris diaphragm. When applying the blurred trajectories method we first show an improvement in the matrix condition, as the matrix condition number decreased in a range of factors of 3 to 418 relative to the main system. Following that, image restoration by weak regularization was performed so that the system matrix condition dominated the restoration process. It was shown that the restoration results of the PO are better than those of the main system and the auxiliary optics separately. In addition, the quality of the restoration follows the system's matrix condition. The improvement in the matrix condition achieved by the PO system improved the immunity to detection noise. Finally, a comparison to Wiener filtering restoration shows that it is also generally inferior to the proposed method. (C) 2012 Optical Society of America