Abstract

A method of imaging through inhomogeneities is described, in which the imaging system is stopped to an aperture size sufficiently small that the image, although of low resolution, nonetheless performs to nearly the diffraction limit. A parallel path exists, from the source to the output plane which bypasses both the object and inhomogeneity. Light traversing this path is brought to interference with the image-forming beam, thus producing on recording an image plane hologram. If the light source is incoherent, the image formed in the first diffracted order of the hologram is found to be largely free from the resolution-limiting effects of both the inhomogeneity and the finite aperture. We describe the capability and limitations of this technique, including the location, distribution, and severity of the inhomogeneities.

© 1987 Optical Society of America