RESOLUTION IN HOLOGRAPHY

The utility of holography for many applications will depend upon the quality and resolution of the images reconstructed from the hologram. In this paper some of the practical limitations encountered in the attainment of high resolution images from holograms are investigated on a theoretical and experimental basis. The ultimate resolution of a holographic system depends upon the numerical aperture of the system, but it is found that the aberrations introduced by practical tolerances will generally limit the resolution to something less than the optimum value. The limiting factor found in this study was the angular alignment of the reconstruction wavefront. © 1969 Optical Society of America.