Quad-Based Fourier Transform for Efficient Diffraction Synthesis

Abstract

Far-field diffraction can be evaluated using the Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) in image space but it is costly due to its dense sampling. We propose a technique based on a closed-form solution of the continuous Fourier transform for simple vector primitives (quads) and propose a hierarchical and progressive evaluation to achieve real-time performance. Our method is able to simulate diffraction effects in optical systems and can handle varying visibility due to dynamic light sources. Furthermore, it seamlessly extends to near-field diffraction. We show the benefit of our solution in various applications, including realistic real-time glare and bloom rendering.