January 15, 2000 / Vol. 25, No.

2 / OPTICS LETTERS

99

Image processing with the radial Hilbert transform:

theory and experiments
Jeffrey A. Davis, Dylan E. McNamara, and Don M. Cottrell
Department of Physics, San Diego State University, San Diego, California 92182

Juan Campos
Departamento de Fisica, Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
Received August 18, 1999
The Hilbert transform is useful for image processing because it can select which edges of an input image
are enhanced and to what degree the edge enhancement occurs. However, the transform operation is
one dimensional and is not applicable for arbitrarily shaped two-dimensional objects. We introduce a
radially symmetric Hilbert transform that permits two-dimensional edge enhancement. We implement onedimensional, two-dimensional, and radial Hilbert transforms with a programmable phase-only liquid-crystal
spatial light modulator. Experimental results are presented. 2000 Optical Society of America
OCIS codes: 120.2440, 100.0100, 230.3720, 070.0070, 200.3050, 230.6120.

The Hilbert and fractional Hilbert transform spatial

filtering operations are useful in image processing
because they can selectively emphasize features of
an input object. The Hilbert transform1 forms an
image that is edge enhanced relative to the input
object, whereas the fractional Hilbert transform2 4
changes the nature of the edge enhancement. First
the right-hand edges (which have a negative slope)
of the input object are emphasized. Then both edges
are emphasized, and finally the left-hand edges (which
have a positive slope) are emphasized.
However, this operation is one dimensional: It enhances edges along only a single direction. Here we
introduce a radially symmetric version of the Hilbert
transform that permits two-dimensional edge enhancement of arbitrarily shaped objects. We also present
a simple experimental technique for implementing
the Hilbert transform operation with a programmable
phase-only liquid-crystal spatial light modulator (LCSLM). First we review the theory.
We assume that an input image gx, y is presented
to a 4f optical Fourier transform correlator. The first
half of the system forms the Fourier transform Gu, v
of the input function. Here u and v are the spatial frequency variables. The Fourier transform is
then multiplied by a Hilbert transform mask function
H u, v. Finally the product Gu, vH u, v is again
Fourier transformed to yield a modified output func
tion gx,
y that represents the convolution between
the input function gx, y and the Hilbert function
hx, y as

gx,
y gx, y hx, y ,

where Su represents the step function and the parameter P represents the fractional order of the Hilbert
transform. When P 1, this mask reduces to the classic Hilbert transform mask H1 u. Note the symmetry
of these masks: Each point on the left half of the filter plane has a phase of 2P p2, and each point on the
right half of the filter has a phase of P p2, as shown in
Fig. 1(a).
Previously4 we showed how to rewrite this filter
function as
HP u cosP p2 1 i sinP p2sgnu ,

(3)

where sgnu represents the signum function. With

this filter, the output of the spatial filtering operation
is the sum of two terms as

gx,
y gx, ycosP p2 1 igx, y 1ipx
3 sinP p2 ,

(4)

where the Fourier transform of the signum function is

given by 1ipx.
Therefore the output of the spatial filtering operation will be the superposition of a copy of the
original function gx, y with a version of the input

(1)

where hx, y is the Fourier transform of the Hilbert

function H u, v and represents the convolution
operation.
The one-dimensional fractional Hilbert transform
mask function HP u of order P is def ined as
HP u expiP p2Su 1 exp2iP p2S2u , (2)
0146-9592/00/020099-03$15.00/0

Fig. 1. (a) One-dimensional Hilbert mask. Gray levels

represent different phase values. ( b) Radial Hilbert mask.
Gray levels represent different phase values for P 1.
2000 Optical Society of America

100

OPTICS LETTERS / Vol. 25, No. 2 / January 15, 2000

Fig. 2. Imaginary component of h1 r, u along the x

axis. The real component vanishes along this axis. The
horizontal axis is in units of lf 2R.

function that is convolved with the Fourier transform

of the signum function. The relative sizes of the two
contributions will depend on the parameter P and will
change as the fractional order of the Hilbert transform
changes.
However, edge enhancement occurs only in the x direction for the example discussed above. If the valuable features of the object are oriented in a different
direction, the edge enhancement will be smeared. We
can create two-dimensional masks by forming the product of two Hilbert masks as HP uHQ v. However,
these masks also retain the basic x, y symmetry.
We can maintain the basic idea of the Hilbert mask
and avoid the x, y symmetry by making a radial
mask in which opposite halves of any radial line have
a relative phase difference of P p rad, as shown in
Fig. 1(b). Therefore for each radial line we have the
equivalent of a one-dimensional Hilbert transform of
order P , which we can obtain by writing a radial
Hilbert phase mask HP r, u as
HP r, u expiP u ,

by x kRrf , where R is the radius of the aperture,

k is the wave vector for the light, and f is the focal
length of the Fourier-transform lens. Figure 2 graphs
h1 r, u along the x axis, where it is completely imaginary. The first maximum occurs at r 0.78lf 2R.
At other angles in the r, u plane this function is multiplied by an angular phase factor expiu and becomes
completely real along the vertical axis. However, the
odd radial symmetry of this function makes it ideal for
edge enhancing of objects that have arbitrary shape.
The higher-order Hankel functions also produce edgeenhancing effects, but the edges are wider.
We can implement the desired masks by using
our LCSLM. In our experimental setup the 514-nm
output from an air-cooled argon laser was sent through
a focusing lens with a focal length of 36.8 cm and
illuminated an input object consisting of either a slit
(with a width of 200 mm) or a circular aperture (with a
diameter of 300 mm). The LCSLM was placed in the
Fourier plane of the lens where the diffraction pattern
of the input object was formed. The image of the object
was formed with a magnif ication of approximately 43
by use of a second lens with a focal length of 36.8 cm
placed behind the LCSLM. The image was detected
with either a one-dimensional linear diode array or a
CCD camera.

(5)

where the variables r, u represent polar coordinates

on the plane of the spatial light modulator and P
represents the order of the radial Hilbert transform.
Using this filter, we obtain the output of the spatial
filtering operation as

gx,
y gx, y hP r, u ,

(6)

where the Fourier transform of the radial Hilbert mask

HP r, u is the Hankel transform function hP r, u
of order P .5 This convolution results in an edgeenhanced version of the input object that depends on
the order of the Hankel transform function. The Hankel functions are diff icult to describe mathematically.
We concentrate on the P 1 case because it provides
the narrowest edge-enhancing operation. The Fourier
transform of the mask function in Eq. (5) for P 1 is
given as a sum of Bessel functions5 as
h1 r, u xJ0 x 1 px2 J1 xH0 x 2 J0 xH1 x ,
(7)
where J0 and J1 are Bessel functions of zero and first
orders and H0 and H1 are Struve functions of zero and
first orders, respectively.6 The parameter x is given

Fig. 3. Output when a one-dimensional slit is used as the

input object. LCSLM programmed with (a) no pattern,
( b) the P 12 Hilbert transform (the right-hand edge is
emphasized), (c) the P 1 Hilbert transform (both edges
are emphasized), (d) the P 32 Hilbert transform (the
left-hand edge is emphasized).

January 15, 2000 / Vol. 25, No. 2 / OPTICS LETTERS

Fig. 4. Output when a circular aperture is used as the

input object. LCSLM programmed with (a) no pattern,
( b) the P 1, Q 1 two-dimensional Hilbert transform,
(c) the P 1 radial Hilbert transform, (d) the P 12
radial Hilbert transform.

The LCSLM in the filter plane is a proprietary

parallel-aligned active matrix nematic LCSLM7,8 manufactured by Seiko Epson and with high resolution
640 3 480 pixels on a 3.3-cm diagonal display. The
pixel spacing is 42 mm, and the thickness of the pixels
is 4.5 mm. The LCSLM acts as an electrically controllable wave plate with a voltage-dependent phase shift
dV . Using the argon-laser wavelength of 514 nm
yields a phase-shift range that exceeds 2p rad as a
function of gray level.
First we examined the one-dimensional fractional
Hilbert transform, using a slit as the input object.
The image of the input slit is shown in Fig. 3(a). We
programmed the LCSLM with the one-dimensional
mask function HP u given by Eq. (2). In these experiments, half of the LCSLM was programmed with one
phase value and the other half was programmed with
the other phase value. Figures 3(b), 3(c), and 3(d)
show experimental results for P 12, 1, 32, respectively. Experimental results agree perfectly with theory, showing the selective edge enhancement discussed
earlier.2 4
We next examined the two-dimensional Hilbert
transform, using the circular aperture as the input
object. Figure 4(a) shows the image of the input
object. We applied a two-dimensional mask written
as HP uHQ v, where u and v are the two-dimensional
coordinates on the spatial light modulator. The orders
of the two orthogonal Hilbert transforms are P and Q.

101

Figure 4(b) shows the results when P Q 1. Note

that the edges are not evenly enhanced because the
symmetry of the object does not match the symmetry
of these two-dimensional masks.
Next we tried the new radial Hilbert mask as
described in Eq. (5). Figure 4(c) shows the results of
using a radial Hilbert mask for P 1. Now the entire
object is uniformly edge enhanced, regardless of the
orientation of the edges.
Finally we tried a fractional radial Hilbert mask
where P 12, and the results are shown in Fig. 4(d).
The resultant image is shadowed: The lower portion
of the image is brighter than the upper portion. We
can change the orientation of the shadowing by rotating the phase mask on the LCSLM. This fractional
operation might be of interest for imaging of phase-only
objects and will be examined in the future.
In conclusion, we have shown that the Hilbert
transform can easily be implemented with a phaseonly LCSLM. We experimentally demonstrated onedimensional Hilbert transforms and introduced a new
radial Hilbert transform that permits edge-enhanced
images of arbitrarily shaped input objects. This radial
Hilbert operator is actually equivalent to the generalized Hankel transform. We expect these results to be
useful in image processing applications.
We thank Tomio Sonehara of Seiko Epson Corporation for the use of the LCSLM in these experiments. We also thank the reviewers for their helpful
insights. J. A. Daviss e-mail address is jdavis@
sciences.sdsu.edu.
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