Abstract

Most existing techniques used to determine the properties of a partially coherent source require interferometric measurements of the cross-spectral density of the field produced by the source. We examine the circumstances under which the interferometric measurements may be replaced by measurements of the spectrum of the field in two or more planes. This approach bears some similarity to a method sometimes used in connection with the phase retrieval problem. In order to provide some insight into such noninterferometric reconstructions, we first consider the simple case of a Gaussian Schell-model source. We then examine some more general types of sources.

© 1992 Optical Society of America