METHOD FOR PROVIDING FEEDBACK CORRECTION FOR AN IMAGING DEVICE

A method for assessing and correcting via feedback, the optical quality of an imaging device. The method has an advantage of expanding the applicability of a classical optical transfer function, heretofore a measure only of global imaging device performance, so that it can provide feedback information for correcting an imaging device defect in terms of local area modifications. In a optical system which comprises a source of radiation that can output a radiation beam and an imaging device to be corrected and which can image the radiation beam to produce an imaged beam, the method comprises the steps of (1) sampling the imaged beam by an opaque mask defining at least two apertures, for generating local wavefront errors at a pupil position defined by a location of the mask, (2) computing a localized optical transfer function (LOTF) for the localized wavefront errors transmitted through the sampling apertures, the LOTF being defined by an equation relating it to a local modulation transfer function (LMTF) and a local phase transfer function (LPTF), (3) generating from the LOTF a performance map comprising a local optical quality factor (LOQF) comprising the ratio of computed LMTF to a diffraction limited LMTF and the LPTF, and (4) generating from the performance map correction feedback for applying a controlled action to the imaging device.