Radial Hilbert transform with Laguerre-Gaussian spatial filters

We analyze the point spread function (PSF) of the image processing system for radial Hilbert transform and propose a novel spiral phase filter, called the Laguerre-Gaussian spatial filter (LGSF). Theoretical analysis and real experiments show that the LGSF possesses some advantages in comparison with the conventional spiral phase plate (SPP). For example, the PSF of the imaging system with a LGSF presents smaller suboscillations than that with the conventional SPP, which allows us to realize a radial Hilbert transform for achieving a high contrast edge enhancement with high resolution. (c) 2006 Optical Society of America