Field Range and Resolution in Holography*

Abstract

This article describes a model for predicting the effects of finite hologram-emulsion resolving power on the range of field recorded in the hologram and the resolution in the reconstructed image. The object must be located within a prescribed volume about the phase reference point to attain a certain required resolution in the reconstructed image. When the object is moved from this volume, the resolution in the reconstructed image deteriorates. A hologram and its reconstruction synthesized by numerical evaluation of the Fresnel-Kirchhoff integral supports this model. Pictures taken in various image planes of a thick object are shown. The limited range of field is not a problem in microscopy because of the small size of the specimen, so that complete three-dimensional records of a microscope specimen can be made in a single microhologram.