Ray Tracing Through a Holographic System

Abstract

Tracing rays through a hologram is treated as a generalized case of tracing rays through a diffraction grating. The local “diffracting power” at a point of the hologram is determined by the geometry and wave-length of the beams whose recorded interference pattern constitutes the hologram. The resulting ray-tracing equations are valid for zone plates. An example of the analysis of the aberrations of a holographic system and a description of a modified system, in which these aberrations are corrected, are given.