Incoherent holography by a Michelson type interferometer with a lens for a radial shear

Abstract

The modified Michelson type interferometer with lenses for a radial shear to record incoherent holograms is proposed. It enables us to record a hologram by self-interference without coherent illumination such as a laser. The interferometer has two wave plates which can realize phase-shifting incoherent holography. The feature can avoid a very large bias term and the twin image, which are the inherent problem of incoherent holography by self-interference. The advantages of the proposed method using lenses and wave plates are easy adjustment of the zone plate and simplification of the optical system. A preliminary experiment using an LED as an incoherent object was performed to confirm the four step phase-shifting by wave plates.