Comparative analysis of the resolving power of optoelectronic imaging systems upon incoherent and coherent illumination of objects

Results of calculations of the resolving power (according to Foucault) of optoelectronic imaging systems with incoherent and coherent illumination under the conditions of atmospheric phase distortions are presented. It is suggested that incoherent optical images are formed in the case of incoherent illumination and speckle images are formed in the case of coherent illumination. The shape of objects observed is estimated from these images. The resolving powers are shown to be practically the same in the formation of incoherent optical images and speckle images in the case of strong phase distortions and smoothing of images by a matrix photodetector. At the same time, the limiting resolving power in the formation of incoherent optical images is twice as large as in the formation of speckle images.