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Charge-coupled device (CCD) and complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) matrices offer excellent features in imaging systems. For assessing the suitability of each technology according to the application, the complete characterization of the detector arrays becomes necessary. A system is optically characterized by the modulation transfer function (MTF). We have comparatively studied the results provided by the speckle method for detectors of two types: CCD and CMOS. To do so, we first analysed the precision in determining the MTF of the CCD using two apertures at the exit port of an integrating sphere: a single and a double-slit. For the single-slit, we propose a new procedure of fitting the experimental data which overcomes the drawbacks of the conventional procedure. Since it offered lower uncertainty and better reproducibility, the single-slit was used for the study with the CMOS detector. Significant differences were found between the MTF of the CCD and the CMOS detectors.

In this work, we present a low-cost experimental setup to evaluate the image quality of digital-camera sensors, which can be implemented in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching. The method consists of evaluating the modulation transfer function (MTF) of digital-camera sensors by speckle patterns using a ping-pong ball as a diffuser, with two handmade circular apertures acting as input and output ports, respectively. To specify the spatial-frequency content of the speckle pattern, it is necessary to use an aperture; for this, we made a slit in a piece of black cardboard. First, the MTF of a digital-camera sensor was calculated using the ping-pong ball and the handmade slit, and then the MTF was calculated using an integrating sphere and a high-quality steel slit. Finally, the results achieved with both experimental setups were compared, showing a similar MTF in both cases

In recent years, the flat-panel display (FPD) technology has undergone great development. Currently, FPDs are present in many devices. A significant element in FPD manufacturing is the display front surface. Manufacturers sell FPDs with different types of front surface which can be matte (also called anti-glare) or glossy screens. Users who prefer glossy screens consider images shown in these types of displays to have more vivid colours compared with matte-screen displays. However, external light sources may cause unpleasant reflections on the glossy screens. These reflections can be reduced by a matte treatment in the front surface of FPDs. In this work, we present a method to characterize the front surface of FPDs using laser speckle patterns. We characterized three FPDs: a Samsung XL2370 LCD monitor of 23" with matte screen, a Toshiba Satellite A100 laptop of 15.4" with glossy screen, and a Papyre electronic book reader. The results show great differences in speckle contrast values for the three screens characterized and, therefore, this work shows the feasibility of this method for characterizing and comparing FPDs which have different types of front surfaces

Today, video cameras connected to frame grabbers or video capture cards (VCCs) are used in many applications such as traffic control, surveillance, medical systems or machine vision. In this work, we present a method for determining the spatial-frequency response of VCCs. This method is based on the modulation transfer function (MTF) determination from speckle patterns using a low-cost experimental setup. We have evaluated and compared three different VCCs. The three VCCs produce an amplification (boost) in the horizontal MTF in a different spatial-frequency range, also differing in the maximum amplification value

Charge-coupled device (CCD) and complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) matrices offer excellent features in imaging systems. A suitability evaluation of either technology according to a specific application requires a complete characterization of the different detector types. A system is optically characterized by the modulation transfer function (MTF), which represents its response in spatial frequency of this system. One of the methods to measure the MTF uses a laser speckle pattern as the object. Here, we comparatively examine the results provided by the speckle method to determine the MTF for detectors of two types: CCD and CMOS. We generate the speckle pattern using a laser and an integrating sphere with an aperture at its exit port. The aperture determined the spatial-frequency content of the pattern registered in the detector. The precision in determining the MTF of the CCD was studied using two different apertures: a single-slit and a double-slit. For the single-slit, we propose a new procedure of fitting the experimental data which resolves the drawbacks of the conventional procedure. To study the CMOS detector, we used the single-slit because it offered lower uncertainty and better reproducibility. The differences between the MTF values of the CCD and the CMOS detectors proved significant for the spatial frequencies higher than 50 cycles/mm, which is half of the interval studied with both arrays. For these spatial frequencies, our results demonstrate that the CCD detector presented MTF values higher than those of the CMOS array.

We present and evaluate two corrections applicable in determining the modulation transfer function (MTF) of a charge-coupled device (CCD) by the speckle method that minimize its uncertainty: one for the low frequency region and another for the high frequency region. The correction at the low-spatial-frequency region enables attenuation of the high power-spectral-density values that arise from the field and CCD response non-uniformities. In the high-spatial-frequency region the results show that the distance between the CCD and the aperture is critical and significantly influences the MTF; a variation of 1 mm in the distance can cause a root-mean-square error in the MTF higher than 10%. We propose a simple correction that minimizes the experimental error committed in positioning the CCD and that diminishes the error to 0.43%., The authors express their appreciation to the Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología for financing projects FIS2004-06465-C02-01 and FIS2004-06465-C02-02.

A method is presented for measuring the modulation transfer function of ophthalmic lenses by use of the generation of laser speckle with an integrating sphere. The measurements are performed with a rectangular double-slit aperture positioned at the output port of the integrating sphere. The distance between the lens and the detector determines the spatial frequency being tested; therefore high frequencies are tested close to the lens and low frequencies are tested far away from the lens. We can conclude that the double-slit method can be a versatile technique for comparing the optical quality of ophthalmic lenses from different makers.

Two methods for measuring the modulation transfer function (MTF) of a charge-coupled device (CCD) that are based on the generation of laser speckle are analyzed and compared. The method based on a single-slit aperture is a quick method, although the measurements are limited to values of less than the Nyquist frequency of the device. The double-slit method permits the measurement of values of as much as some 1.8 times the Nyquist frequency, although it is a slower method because of the necessity to move the CCD. The difference between the MTF values obtained with the two methods is less than 0.1 in magnitude; the root-mean-square error between the two curves is 0.046 (4.6%).

In recent years, flat-panel display (FPD) technology has undergone great development, and now FPDs appear in many devices. A significant element in FPD manufacturing is the display front surface. Manufacturers sell FPDs with different types of front surfaces, which can be matte (also called anti-glare) or glossy screens. Users who prefer glossy screens consider these displays to show more vivid colors compared with matte-screen displays. However, on the glossy screens, external light sources may cause unpleasant reflections that can be reduced by a matte treatment in the front surface. In this work, we present a method to characterize FPD screens using laser-speckle patterns. We characterize three FPDs: a Samsung XL2370 LCD monitor of 23 in. with matte screen, a Toshiba Satellite A100 LCD laptop of 15.4 in. with glossy screen, and a Grammata Papyre 6.1 electronic book reader of 6 in. with ePaper screen (E-ink technology). The results show great differences in speckle-contrast values for the three screens characterized and, therefore, this work shows the feasibility of this method for characterizing and comparing FPDs that have different types of front surfaces.

Today, CCD and CMOS detector arrays present excellent features in imaging systems. To investigate the suitability of each technology according to various applications, in this work we have comparatively studied the quality of the images provided by different cameras. To this end we have used the speckle method to determine the modulation transfer function (MTF) at different wavelengths of the visible spectrum for the detectors of a low-cost CCD video camera and of two scientific cameras (CCD and CMOS). For both the low-cost CCD and the scientific CMOS detectors, the differences between the MTF curves intensify as the spatial frequency augments, while the MTF decreases as the wavelength increases. For the scientific CCD detector, the MTF spectral behavior does not show this trend, and the differences between the MTF curves corresponding to extreme wavelengths are not expected to be significant, as opposed to what appears for the scientific CMOS detector.