Digital recording and numerical reconstruction of holograms: a new method for displaying light in flight

We present a new method for displaying light in flight. Fresnel holograms are recorded directly on a CCD sensor, electronically stored, and numerically reconstructed. Experimental results are shown. From different parts of a single holographic recording, different views of a wave front can be reconstructed. This means that the temporal evolution of a wave front can be observed by numerical methods.     

Digital recording and reconstruction of holograms in hologram interferometry and shearography

The fundamentals of digital recording and mathematical reconstruction of Fresnel holograms are described. The object is recorded in two different states, and the holograms are stored electronically with a charge-coupled-device detector. In the process of reconstruction the digitally sampled holograms are applied to the different coherent optical methods as hologram interferometry and shearography. If the holograms are superimposed and reconstructed jointly, a holographic interferogram results. If a shearing is introduced in the reconstruction process, a shearogram results. This means that the evaluation technique, e.g., hologram interferometry or shearography, can be influenced by numerical methods.     

Magnified reconstruction of digitally recorded holograms by Fresnel-Bluestein transform

A method for numerical reconstruction of digitally recorded holograms with variable magnification is presented. The proposed strategy allows for smaller, equal, or larger magnification than that achieved with Fresnel transform by introducing the Bluestein substitution into the Fresnel kernel. The magnification is obtained independent of distance, wavelength, and number of pixels, which enables the method to be applied in color digital holography and metrological applications. The approach is supported by experimental and simulation results in digital holography of objects of comparable dimensions with the recording device and in the reconstruction of holograms from digital in-line holographic microscopy.     

Digital holography of particle fields: reconstruction by use of complex amplitude

Digital holography appears to be a strong contender as the next-generation technology for holographic diagnostics of particle fields and holographic particle image velocimetry for flow field measurement. With the digital holographic approach, holograms are directly recorded by a digital camera and reconstructed numerically. This not only eliminates wet chemical processing and mechanical scanning, but also enables the use of complex amplitude information inaccessible by optical reconstruction, thereby allowing flexible reconstruction algorithms to achieve optimization of specific information. However, owing to the inherently low pixel resolution of solid-state imaging sensors, digital holography gives poor depth resolution for images, a problem that severely impairs the usefulness of digital holography especially in densely populated particle fields. This paper describes a technique that significantly improves particle axial-location accuracy by exploring the reconstructed complex amplitude information, compared with other numerical reconstruction schemes that merely mimic traditional optical reconstruction. This novel method allows accurate extraction of particle locations from forward-scattering particle holograms even at high particle loadings.     

Hybrid digital holographic imaging system for three-dimensional dense particle field measurement

To apply digital holography to the measurement of three-dimensional dense particle fields in large facilities, we have developed a hybrid digital holographic particle-imaging system. The technique combines the advantages of off-axis (side) scattering in suppressing speckle noise and on-axis (in-line) recording in lowering the digital sensor resolution requirement. A camera lens is attached to the digital sensor to compensate for the weak object wave from side scattering over a large recording distance. A simple numerical reconstruction algorithm is developed for holograms recorded with a lens without requiring complex and impractical mathematical corrections. We analyze the effect of image sensor resolution and off-axis angle on system performance and quantify the particle positioning accuracy of the system. The holographic system is successfully applied to the study of inertial particle clustering in isotropic turbulence.     

Three-dimensional identification of stem cells by computational holographic imaging.

We present an optical imaging system and mathematical algorithms for three-dimensional sensing and identification of stem cells. Data acquisition of stem cells is based on holographic microscopy in the Fresnel domain by illuminating the cells with a laser. In this technique, the holograms of stem cells are optically recorded with an image sensor array interfaced with a computer and three-dimensional images of the stem cells are reconstructed from the Gabor-filtered digital holograms. The Gabor wavelet transformation for feature extraction of the digital hologram is performed to improve the process of identification. The inverse Fresnel transformation of the Gabor-filtered digital hologram is performed to reconstruct the multi-scale three-dimensional images of the stem cells at different depths along the longitudinal direction. For recognition and classification of stem cells, a statistical approach using an empirical cumulative density function is introduced. The experiments indicate that the proposed system can be potentially useful for recognizing and classifying stem cells. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on using three-dimensional holographic microscopy for automated identification of stem cells.     

Effects of quantization in phase-shifting digital holography

We discuss quantization effects of hologram recording on the quality of reconstructed images in phase-shifting digital holography. We vary bit depths of phase-shifted holograms in both numerical simulation and experiments and then derived the complex amplitude, which is subjected to Fresnel transformation for the image reconstruction. The influence of bit-depth limitation in quantization has been demonstrated in a numerical simulation for spot-array patterns with linearly varying intensities and a continuous intensity object. The objects are provided with uniform and random phase modulation. In experiments, digital holograms are originally recorded at 8 bits and the bit depths are changed to deliver holograms at bit depths of 1 to 8 bits for the image reconstruction. The quality of the reconstructed images has been evaluated for the different quantization levels.     

Estimation of wavelength difference using scale adjustment in two-wavelength digital holographic interferometry

We propose a method for an estimation of wavelength difference using scale adjustment in two-wavelength digital holographic interferometry. To estimate wavelength difference, two holograms recorded with different wavelengths are reconstructed on the basis of the Fresnel diffraction integral, and pixel sizes in the reconstruction plane, which depend on the wavelength in recording hologram, are analyzed. In the analysis, a zero-padding method and an intensity correlation function are used to adjust pixel sizes in the reconstruction plane and then obtain a wavelength difference given by a difference between the pixel sizes. Theoretical predictions and experimental results are shown to indicate the usefulness of the proposed method in this paper.     

Hybrid holographic microscopy: visualization of three-dimensional object information by use of viewing angles

One of the attractive features of hybrid holographic microscopy, in which the hologram of a microscopic object recorded by an image sensor is numerically reconstructed with a computer, is that the three-dimensional (3-D) information of a recorded object is obtained. The 3-D information has often been extracted by means of changing the reconstruction distance in the numerical reconstruction process, but here we describe an alternative technique that allows for variable viewing angles. That is, the perspective from which the object is viewed can be varied. The approximation used enables use of the fast-Fourier-transform algorithm for numerical reconstruction even in the high-resolution case in which the Fresnel approximation is no longer valid. The resolution of the proposed technique is also discussed.     

Digital holographic particle validation via complex wave

The inability to distinguish between particle images and noise in holographic reconstruction of dense particle fields hampers the advancement of holographic particle diagnostic techniques including holographic particle image velocimetry. We developed a method to separate particles from the noise by unlocking a unique particle signature in the complex reconstructed field. This complex-wave signature is present in digital particle holograms recorded at any scattering angle. Simulations of single and multiple particle holograms, as well as preliminary laboratory particle-field experiments, not only demonstrated the existence of the particle signature but also evaluated its ability to remove noise. Regardless of particle seeding density, scattering angle of hologram recording and particle size range, the particle identification/validation routine consistently provides >50% removal of "bad" particles and <8% of good particles.     

High topographical accuracy by optical shot noise reduction in digital holographic microscopy

In this work, we present a new method to reduce the shot noise in phase imaging of digital holograms. A spatial averaging process of phase images reconstructed at different reconstruction distances is performed, with the reconstruction distance range being specified by the numerical focus depth of the optical system. An improved phase image is attained with a 50% shot noise reduction. We use the integral of the angular spectrum as a reconstruction method to obtain a single-object complex amplitude that is needed to perform our proposal. We also show the corresponding simulations and experimental results. The topography of a homemade TiO2 stepwise of 100 nm high was measured and compared with the atomic force microscope results.     

Three-dimensional remote sensing by optical scanning holography

A technique is presented by which holograms can be recorded when an object or scene is scanned with an optically heterodyned Fresnel zone pattern. The experimental setup, based on optical scanning holography, is described and experimental results are presented. We apply the scanning holography technique to three-dimensional reflective objects for the first time to our knowledge and address the unique requirements for such a system. We discuss holographic recording and numerical image reconstruction using a system point-spread function (PSF) approach. We demonstrate numerical image reconstruction of experimentally recorded holograms by two techniques: deconvolution with a simulated PSF and an experimentally acquired PSF.     

Nonredundant calculations for creating digital Fresnel holograms

In this paper we propose an alternative technique for producing digital Fresnel holograms. The evaluation of a diffraction pattern in a wide region is implemented in such a way as to avoid redundant calculations and preserve the precision. Because of the symmetry of the kernel, the complex amplitude is calculated at four points in the registration plane simultaneously. This algorithm decreases the required CPU time 4 times with respect to direct calculation. The digital Fresnel hologram is numerically and optically reconstructed, and some qualitative comparisons are made.     

Fourier-domain digital holographic optical coherence imaging of living tissue

Digital holographic optical coherence imaging is a full-frame coherence-gated imaging approach that uses a CCD camera to record and reconstruct digital holograms from living tissue. Recording digital holograms at the optical Fourier plane has advantages for diffuse targets compared with Fresnel off-axis digital holography. A digital hologram captured at the Fourier plane requires only a 2D fast Fourier transform for numerical reconstruction. We have applied this technique for the depth-resolved imaging of rat osteogenic tumor multicellular spheroids and acquired cross-section images of the anterior segment and the retinal region of a mouse eye. A penetration depth of 1.4 mm for the tumor spheroids was achieved.     

Model of holographic recording in thermoplastic materials

A method for the evaluation of images reconstructed from holograms recorded in thermoplastic materials is reported. The method is based on the use of the experimental modulation transfer function and nonlinear holographic characteristics of the recording material. Calculations have been carried out for high-numerical-aperture holograms of a five-element Ronchi ruling. The quality of the reconstructed image as a function of the recording parameters has been computed. The model predicts that it is possible to optimize holographic recording in these materials.     

Holographic generalized first-arriving light approach for resolving images viewed through a scattering medium

We present a generalized holography-based approach with improved spatial resolution for extracting images, viewed through a scattering medium. The various angular directions are encoded either with different wavelengths or by capturing their corresponding images in different time slots. The various encoded images are recorded on a digital hologram with a computer. A digital reconstruction, which includes demodulation of the carrier beam and then a proper decoding algorithm, yields resolved images. The principle is demonstrated by recording image-plane digital holograms. Combining the suggested approach with the first-arriving light technique may further improve the results.     

Digital holographic microtomography with few angle data-sets

In this paper, we report the experimental implementation of handling the reconstruction problem from few angle data-sets for digital holographic microtomography. First, the digital holographic microscopy with sample-rotating scheme is established and few holograms with regularly spaced angle steps are recorded. Then, an algebraic iterative reconstruction algorithm with non-positivity constraint and a smoothing operator is applied to reconstruct three-dimensional refractive index distribution of the measured sample from the few angle data-sets. The experimental results demonstrate that the algebraic iterative technique can accurately reconstruct refractive index distribution from few angle data-sets in digital holographic microtomography. The technique is easy to implement and reduces greatly the required recording times.     

Improvement of color reproduction in color digital holography by using spectral estimation technique

We propose a color digital holography by using spectral estimation technique to improve the color reproduction of objects. In conventional color digital holography, there is insufficient spectral information in holograms, and the color of the reconstructed images depend on only reflectances at three discrete wavelengths used in the recording of holograms. Therefore the color-composite image of the three reconstructed images is not accurate in color reproduction. However, in our proposed method, the spectral estimation technique was applied, which has been reported in multispectral imaging. According to the spectral estimation technique, the continuous spectrum of object can be estimated and the color reproduction is improved. The effectiveness of the proposed method was confirmed by a numerical simulation and an experiment, and, in the results, the average color differences are decreased from 35.81 to 7.88 and from 43.60 to 25.28, respectively.     

Digital Double-pulsed Holographic Interferometry for Vibration Analysis

Abstract

In this paper we describe a digital double-pulsed holographic system. Two separate holograms of an object under test are recorded within a few microseconds using a charge-coupled device camera and stored in a frame grabber. The holograms are digitally reconstructed using a computer, by simulation of the Fresnel diffraction of the hologram illuminated by the reference wave. The phases of the two reconstructed wave fields are calculated from the complex amplitude and the deformation is obtained from the phase difference. Experimental results are presented.