Increasing the Efficiency of Optical Information Systems by Rational Distribution of Optical Degrees of Freedom

Optical systems transmit information of various types, including spatial (x, y, z components), temporal, spectral, polarization, and phase. In practice, it is often desired to evaluate the volume of information that is necessary for optimum use of an optical device. It is important to ensure that the system possesses the maximum number of degrees of freedom for certain types of information. This can be achieved through rational exchange of the optical information types that do not favor reaching a desired goal with the aid of a given device for useful types of information. An optimum model should take into account the hierarchy of the types of optical information and introduce weight functions based on the usefulness of each particular optical degree of freedom for solving the tasks of the given device. DOI: 10.1134/S1063785012060065