ABSTRACT
An important function of any imaging system is to resolve spatial objects. A system’s ability to do this is determined by many design attributes including optics, focal plane, detectors, and electronics. However, one of the most difficult things to define is an imaging system’s ability to resolve spatial objects or it’s “spatial resolution.” Often this term is improperly defined and poorly understood. Also, it is sometimes confused with the concept of instantaneous field-of-view (IFOV). The problem is compounded because there is no standard method for measuring spatial resolution, and there is no single metric that adequately measures it.
