Multi-imaging capabilities of a 2D diffraction grating in combination with digital holography

Abstract

In this Letter we report on an alternative approach to get multiple images in microscopy, exploiting the capabilities of both a lithium niobate diffraction grating and digital holographic technique. We demonstrate that multi-imaging can be achieved in a lensless configuration by using a hexagonal diffraction grating but overcoming, thanks to digital holography (DH), the many constrains imposed by the grating parameters in multi-imaging with Talbot effect or Talbot array illuminators. In fact, DH permits the numerical reconstruction of the optical field diffracted by the grating, thus obtaining in-focus multiple images in a plane different from the fractional or entire Talbot ones.