XIV.—Experiments in Diffraction Microscopy

Abstract

SynopsisExperiments have been performed, using purely optical methods, to verify and extend the theory of Gabor's diffraction microscope. An elementary theory of the process is first given, from which certain generalizations are provisionally drawn. In particular, a focal length is attributed to any Fresnel diffraction pattern and the hologram derived from it by photography. The variation of this focal length with wavelength and scale factor is postulated by analogy with a zone-plate, and the power-rate for a hologram is denned. These deductions are then verified by experiment, and a summary is given at the end of § 10. Various other confirmatory experiments are then described.Adequate information is given about apparatus and technique to enable new entrants into this field to obtain satisfactory results with the minimum of preliminary trial.

Metasurface holograms for visible light

“…This technique produces an amplitude hologram through which the scattered wavefront is directly recorded through the intensity of the interference pattern. By translating the intensity variations in the interference pattern into phase variations, one may build a phase hologram, which increases the brightness of the image substantially 3,4 . In contrast to two-beam holography, one of the earliest computergenerated phase holograms, a kinoform 5,6 , has been designed as a complex lens which transforms a given incident wavefront into the transmitted wavefront used to recreate the desired image.…”

From white elephant to Nobel Prize: Dennis Gabor's wavefront reconstruction

“…from November 1949, writing that he had been "working hard" since reading Gabor's Proceedings of the Royal Society paper two months earlier. 46 Rogers made three important contributions to the nascent subject of wavefront reconstruction: first, he provided a simpler and more general description of wavefront reconstruction than had Gabor; second, he published a detailed account of his experiments, which made it easier for others to repeat and extend them; 47 and third, he collaborated directly and enthusiastically with other researchers interested in extending the technique.…”

Principles and techniques of digital holographic microscopy

“…Methods of numerical calculation of diffraction are described and compared in Sec. 4, and a number of main types of interferometer configurations used in digital holography experiments are given in Sec. 5.…”