DIRECT-VIEW MICROSCOPY - OPTICAL SECTIONING STRENGTH FOR FINITE-SIZED, MULTIPLE-PINHOLE ARRAYS

Direct-view microscopes use multiple-aperture arrays in the source and detector planes. We develop a theory for brightfield and fluorescence direct-view microscopy which allows us to determine the optical secti oning strength for finite-sized, multiple-pinhole arrays with an arbit rary distribution of apertures. We specialize to the cases of square, hexagonal and interleaving Archimedean spiral arrays and consider the implications of the array configuration on both the optical sectioning strength and the light budget.