Zero-order noise suppression with various space-shifting manipulations of reconstructed images in digital holography

In this paper, we describe various numerical space-shifting manipulations of the reconstructed images to remove the dc noise in the reconstruction, in terms of the periodicity characteristics of images in digital holography. The theoretical interpretation on different reconstruction periods of the image and the dc noise is described in detail for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. It is related to CCD sampling periods or frequencies for the fringes and the dc term of a hologram. With the calculations of Hadamard product of two different spatially shifted images and subsequent extraction of the root of it, the dc noise can be suppressed effectively and a clear image with the original intensity contrast can be obtained at the center in the hologram reconstruction, particularly when the image and the dc noise are completely or partially superposed with each other. The experiments for both in-line and off-axis imaging cases show that all results are completely consistent with theoretical predictions.     

Superresolved imaging in digital holography by superposition of tilted wavefronts

A technique based on superresolution by digital holographic microscopic imaging is presented. We used a two dimensional (2-D) vertical-cavity self-emitting laser (VCSEL) array as spherical-wave illumination sources. The method is defined in terms of an incoherent superposition of tilted wavefronts. The tilted spherical wave originating from the 2-D VCSEL elements illuminates the target in transmission mode to obtain a hologram in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer configuration. Superresolved images of the input object above the common lens diffraction limit are generated by sequential recording of the individual holograms and numerical reconstruction of the image with the extended spatial frequency range. We have experimentally tested the approach for a microscope objective with an exact 2-D reconstruction image of the input object. The proposed approach has implementation advantages for applications in biological imaging or the microelectronic industry in which structured targets are being inspected.     

Resolution improvement in digital holography by angular and polarization multiplexing

Angular and polarization multiplexing techniques are utilized in both object and reference arms in the digital holographic microscopy system to improve its resolution. The angular multiplexing provides on-axis and off-axis illumination and reference beams with different carrier frequencies. Polarization multiplexing prohibits the occurrence of interference between low and high object spatial frequencies and reference beams. The proposed system does not require special light sources or filtering masks. Experimental results show that the resolution of the synthesized image exceeds the resolution determined by the numerical aperture of the imaging microscope objective.     

Image reconstruction only by phase data in phase-shifting digital holography

We describe data compression in phase-shifting digital holography. We demonstrate by experimentation that an image of a diffusely reflecting object can be reconstructed only by phase data of the derived complex amplitude. It is shown that reduction of the bit depth of the phase data does not seriously damage the image even down to 1 bit. We observe enhancement of halo in the image with low bit depths. This tendency is verified quantitatively by a one-dimensional simulation. Our procedure for smoothing the images that result from the data-compression methods is shown to be effective.     

Scheme to improve the reconstructed image in parallel quasi-phase-shifting digital holography

We propose a scheme to improve the reconstructed image in parallel quasi-phase-shifting digital holography. Parallel quasi-phase-shifting digital holography is a technique capable of noiseless instantaneous measurement of three-dimensional objects, and it implements four kinds of phase shifting at a time with an array of 2 x 2 phase-shifting devices located in the reference wave. In the phase-shifting calculation in the reconstruction process of the technique, the scheme assigns the 2 x 2 cell configuration for each pixel in the vertical direction and for each 1-pixel interval in the horizontal direction of the hologram recorded by the image sensor. We conduct both a numerical simulation and a preliminary experiment. The results show that the proposed scheme can improve the quality of the reconstructed image calculated by the conventional scheme of parallel quasi-phase-shifting digital holography we previously proposed, and then the effectiveness of the proposed scheme is verified.     

Improvement of accuracy in digital holography by use of multiple holograms

Speckle pattern decorrelation reduces the accuracy of interferometric shape and deformation measurements. We introduce a technique for the reduction of speckle noise in digital holography. The method is not based on classical filtering techniques such as median filters. Instead it utilizes the shift theorem of the Fourier transform. For this method several holograms of the same object under test are recorded. The reconstruction leads to a set of object wave fields with different speckle patterns. A proper averaging procedure, taking into account the properties of the wrapped phases, leads to an improvement of the accuracy in the resulting phase difference. The theory of the applied method is described and our first results for technical components with an improvement of accuracy up to 1/57 of the wavelength are presented.     

Free-viewpoint images captured using phase-shifting synthetic aperture digital holography

Free-viewpoint images obtained from phase-shifting synthetic aperture digital holography are given for scenes that include multiple objects and a concave object. The synthetic aperture technique is used to enlarge the effective sensor size and to make it possible to widen the range of changing perspective in the numerical reconstruction. The lensless Fourier setup and its aliasing-free zone are used to avoid aliasing errors arising at the sensor edge and to overcome a common problem in digital holography, namely, a narrow field of view. A change of viewpoint is realized by a double numerical propagation and by clipping the wave field by a given pupil. The computational complexity for calculating an image in the given perspective from the base complex-valued image is estimated at a double fast Fourier transform. The experimental results illustrate the natural change of appearance in cases of both multiple objects and a concave object.     

Image watermarking by use of digital holography embedded in the discrete-cosine-transform domain

Digital holography techniques can be utilized to implement image watermarking schemes. In a previous method proposed by Takai and Mifune [Appl. Opt. 41,865 (2002)], a watermark image is transformed into a digital Fourier hologram, which then is directly superposed onto a content image to perform the embedding process. In the detection stage, the watermark is extracted based on the inverse Fourier transform and optical holography techniques. A method in which the hologram is superposed on the discrete-cosine-transform domain of the content image is proposed to significantly improve Takai and Mifune's method. The proposed method can greatly reduce the degradation on the superposed image, which is the major drawback in Takai and Mifune's method. Simulation results also demonstrate that the watermark can be successfully extracted under different kinds of attack.     

Simultaneous depth determination of multiple objects by focus analysis in digital holography

Focus analysis techniques from computer vision are applied to digital holography to determine the depth (range) of multiple objects and their surfaces from a single hologram capture. With this method the depths of objects can be determined from a single hologram capture without the need for manual focusing and without prior information on object location. Variance and the Laplacian of Gaussian are analyzed as focus measures, and techniques are proposed for focus plane determination from the focus measure curves. The algorithm is described in detail and demonstrated through simulation and optical experiment.     

Image formation in phase-shifting digital holography and applications to microscopy

We discuss image formation in phase-shifting digital holography by developing an analytical formulation based on the Fresnel-Kirchhoff diffraction theory. Image-plane position and imaging magnification are derived for general configurations in which a spherical reference is employed. The influences of discrete sampling of the resulting interference patterns by a CCD and numerical reconstruction on qualities of point images are investigated. Dependence of the point images on the ratio of the minimum fringe spacing to pixel pitch of the CCD is numerically analyzed. Two-point resolution and magnification are also investigated as a function of pixel numbers by a simulation using a one-dimensional model. In experiments magnified images of biological objects and a resolution target were reconstructed with the same quality as by conventional microscopy.     

Remote metrology by comparative digital holography

A method for the remote comparison of objects with regard to their shape or response to a load is presented. The method allows interferometric sensitivity for comparing objects with different microstructure. In contrast to the well-known incoherent techniques based on inverse fringe projection this new approach uses the coherent optical wave field of the master object as a mask for the illumination of the sample object. The coherent mask is created by digital holography to allow instant access to the complete optical information of the master object at any place desired. The mask is reconstructed by a spatial light modulator (SLM). The optical reconstruction of digital holograms with SLM technology allows modification of reconstructed wavefronts with respect to improvement of image quality, the skilled introduction of additional information about the object (augmented reality), and the alignment of the master and test object.     

Improvement in visibility of an in-focus reconstructed image in digital holography by reduction of the influence of out-of-focus objects

When a reconstruction is performed on a digital holographic image that contains small objects at different depths, diffraction that is due to out-of-focus objects disrupts the visibility of the nearby focused objects. We propose a method to substitute for focused object amplitudes other amplitudes that will reduce propagation diffraction effects when other depths are investigated. The replacement amplitudes are computed by use of an algorithm that reduces the highest spatial frequencies of the resultant image. The theoretical aspects of the method are presented, and results for simulated and experimental examples are shown.     

Polarization imaging by use of digital holography

We present what we believe to be a new digital holographic imaging method that is able to determine simultaneously the distributions of intensity, phase, and polarization state at the surface of a specimen on the basis of a single image acquisition. Two reference waves with orthogonal polarization states interfere with the object wave to create a hologram that is recorded on a CCD camera. Two wave fronts, one for each perpendicular polarization state, are numerically reconstructed in intensity and phase. Combining the intensity and the phase distributions of these two wave fronts permits the determination of all the components of the Jones vector of the object-wave front. We show that this method can be used to image and measure the distribution of the polarization state at the surface of a specimen, and the obtained results indicate that precise quantitative measurements of the polarization state can be achieved. An application of the method to image the birefringence of a stressed polymethyl methacrylate sample is presented.     

近场声全息重建振模的动态三维显示

本文简要介绍基于相位参量插值法并利用计算机软件功能，这场声全息建出的单帧，静态的振动模式转变为动态三维显示的原理与技术，并给出对模拟编及圆盘振模的显示结果，表明其具有对复杂振动进行细致观察研究的独特优点。     

Detection of surface strain by three-dimensional digital holography

Three-dimensional digital holography with three object-illuminating beams has been successfully used for the detection of surface strain in metallic objects. The optical setup that uses illuminating beams to irradiate the object from three directions means that all three object surface displacement components, x, y, and z, can be independently calculated and used to find the strain gradients on the surface. The results show the conversion of the complete surface displacement field into a surface strain field. The method is capable of measuring microstrains for out-of-plane surface displacements of less than 10 microm.     

数字同轴和数字离轴全息系统分析

利用最高空间频率分析法,通过逐点分析记录在 CCD 上的空间频率信息,研究了物体可允许记录的最大横向尺寸、最小记录距离、全息图的信息量、空间分辨力、再现像的横向分辨力、轴向分辨力及散斑大小,并得到了数学表达式。理论分析和实验结果表明,数字同轴全息系统放宽了对 CCD 分辨力的要求,有较高的分辨力,较低的散斑噪声、灵活、简单的系统结构及较高的 CCD 空间带宽利用率,在增强系统性能方面要优于数字离轴全息系统。这一研究为数字全息系统的设计和操作提供了一定的理论和实验指导。     

Shift-invariant three-dimensional object recognition by means of digital holography

We present an optoelectronic method to analyze three-dimensional (3D) scenes that is able to detect the presence, and also the position and orientation, of a reference 3D object. The data-acquisition procedure is based on digital holography. A phase-shifting interferometer records a single digital Fresnel hologram of the 3D scene with an intensity-recording device. Holographic information of the 3D reference object is also obtained with the same method. Correlation techniques are then applied to recognize the presence and position of the 3D reference object in the 3D scene. The technique also allows us to detect the 3D reference with a small out-of-plane rotation. Preliminary experimental results are presented that demonstrate the theory.     

High-resolution digital holography utilized by the subpixel sampling method

A novel (to our knowledge) approach for resolution improvement in digital holography is presented in this paper. The proposed method is based on recording the incoming interference field on a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) camera with subpixel resolution. The method takes advantage of the small pixel size of the CMOS sensor, while overcoming the reduced fill factor. This paper describes the experimental and numerical procedures. The improvement of the obtainable optical resolution, image quality, and phase measurement accuracy are demonstrated within this paper.     

Dependence of reconstructed image characteristics on the observation condition in light-in-flight recording by holography

We analyze the dependence of the reconstructed image characteristic on the observation condition in the light-in-flight recording by holography both theoretically and experimentally. This holography makes it possible to record a propagating light pulse. We have found that the shape of the reconstructed image is changed when the observation position is vertically moved along the hologram plane. The reconstructed image is numerically simulated on the basis of the theory and is experimentally obtained by using a 373 fs pulsed laser. The numerical results agree with the experimental result, and the validity of the theory is verified. Also, experimental results are analyzed and the restoration of the reconstructed image is discussed.     

Reduction of speckle in digital holography by discrete Fourier filtering

We present a digital signal processing technique that reduces the speckle content in reconstructed digital holograms. The method is based on sequential sampling of the discrete Fourier transform of the reconstructed image field. Speckle reduction is achieved at the expense of a reduced intensity and resolution, but this trade-off is shown to be greatly superior to that imposed by the traditional mean and median filtering techniques. In particular, we show that the speckle can be reduced by half with no loss of resolution (according to standard definitions of both metrics).