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Updated: Jun 27, 2026

Measurement of X-ray Beam Coherence along Multiple Directions Using 2-D Checkerboard Phase Grating
Published on: October 11, 2016
Partially correlated azimuthal vortex illumination: coherence and correlation measurements and effects in imaging
1Institute of Optics, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627, USA. debrown@optics.rochester.edu
Abstract:
Correlations in the illumination field have a profound impact on the image contrast for features near the resolution limit. The pupil polarization affects these correlations. We show that a polarization vortex has a particularly dramatic effect. A theoretical model is given for the correlation matrix of a partially correlated source created by placing an azimuthal polarization vortex mode converter in the pupil plane of a critical illumination system. We then validate this model experimentally using a reversed-wavefront Young interferometer, directly show the impact that the phase of the correlation function has on image contrast.
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