We consider the effect of the finite size of the source and of the detector on the three-dimensional transfer function of an incident light coherent confocal scanning microscope. Up to now the source has always been modeled as being punctiform. We will show that a finite source alters the 3D resolution and hence the imaging properties of such a microscope much more than a finite detector of the same size. It is also the aim of this paper to determine the greatest size of the source and the detector which still preserves the 3D resolution attained with a confocal microscope.
“Three-dimensional transfer function of coherent confocal microscopes with extended source and detector“, Valter DRAZIC, Journal of Modern Optics, 1992, vol. 39, No. 8, 1777-1790.