Optical digital implementation of the Wigner distribution function: use in space variant filtering of real images.

An optical digital processor based on the Wigner distribution function (WDF) has been implemented, permitting space variant filtering of 2-D real images. The processor sequentially generates all space samples of the distribution; thus, each sample can be modified by a different filter. The filtered Wigner distribution function is optically inverted, and a digital image processor selects the information associated with each sample of the image. Compared to a digital implementation, the required computer time has been reduced to the point where future practical use of Wigner filtering can be expected.