Reduced noise high resolution holographic imaging using spatially incoherent reconstructing radiation

Claim 1

In a method of illuminating a non-diffuse object with a plurality of angularly displaced mutually coherent light beams derived from a single coherent light source, thereby generating an undesirable intensity variation pattern across said nondiffuse object, the improvement of generating a uniform average intensity monochromatic wavefront for illuminating said object, comprising the step of modifying said coherent light source to become a mono-chromatic spatially incoherent source having a defined size with at least one pair of opposite parallel sides that are parallel to lines of the undesirable intensity variation pattern, said at least one pair of parallel sides being separated a distance which would result in shifting said intensity pattern lines across said object a distance equal to an integral multiple of its fundamental period by moving a coherent point light source from one of said opposing pair of parallel sides to the other.

Claim 4

A method of constructing and reconstructing a hologram of a non-diffuse object in reconstructing an image therefrom, comprising the steps of: illuminating said non-diffuse object with a plurality of angularly displaced mutually coherent light beams, thereby forming an object modified beam which contains information of the object plus an undesirable intensity variation pattern thereacross, recording an off-axis hologram on a holographic detector positioned in the path of said object modified beam by directing against said detector a reference light beam mutually coherent with said object illuminating beams, whereby a hologram is constructed from which an image of said object could be reconstructed by illumination with coherent light but which would have the undesirable intensity variation pattern superimposed thereover, reconstructing an image of said object from said hologram by directing thereagainst a monochromatic spatially incoherent light beam from a source of finite dimensions, said source having at least one pair of parallel sides separated a distance such that if a point coherent source of coherent light were to illuminate the hologram and be moved from a position coincident with oNe side of said incoherent source to the other side of said incoherent source, lines of the intensity pattern superimposed on a reconstructed image would be translated an integral multiple of a fundamental period of intensity variation of said superimposed pattern, said at least one pair of parallel sides additionally being parallel to said intensity pattern lines that would be reconstructed with a point coherent light source.

Claim 5

A method of constructing and reconstructing a hologram of a non-diffuse object in reconstructing an image therefrom, comprising the steps of: illuminating said non-diffuse object with a plurality of angularly displaced mutually coherent light beams, thereby forming an object modified beam which contains information of the object plus an undesirable intensity variation pattern thereacross, recording an off-axis hologram on a holographic detector positioned in the path of said object modified beam by directing against said detector a reference light beam mutually coherent with said object illuminating beams, whereby a hologram is constructed from which an image of said object could be reconstructed by illumination with coherent light but which would have the undesirable intensity variation pattern superimposed thereover, reconstructing an image of said object from said hologram by directing thereagainst a monochromatic spatially incoherent light beam from a source of finite dimensions, said source having at least one pair of parallel sides separated a distance such that if a point coherent source of coherent light were to illuminate the hologram and be moved from a position coincident with oNe side of said incoherent source to the other side of said incoherent source, lines of the intensity pattern superimposed on a reconstructed image would be translated an integral multiple of a fundamental period of intensity variation of said superimposed pattern, said at least one pair of parallel sides additionally being parallel to said intensity pattern lines that would be reconstructed with a point coherent light source.