Abstract

Dispersion compensation is a well-known technique for the display of holographic images in polychromatic light (e.g., Ref. 1). We examine the effect of dispersion compensation on the geometric distortions and on the third-order Seidel aberrations present in the reconstructed image. The treatment uses the analysis of Champagne² and takes into account the position of the observer. It is found that the resultant distortions are limited to longitudinal magnification and diminution and that lateral displacement is eliminated for all image points. Spherical aberration is almost unchanged but usually small, and coma and astigmatism are reduced by a large factor or are eliminated. The results obtained, combined with the advantage of achromatic imaging and the normally high image luminance render dispersion compensation a useful technique for holographic image reconstruction.

© 1986 Optical Society of America