Origin of peculiar inerratic diffraction patterns recorded by charge-coupled device cameras

Abstract

A peculiar and regular diffraction pattern is recorded while using either a color or a monochrome charge-coupled device (CCD) camera to capture the image of the micro air plasma produced by femtosecond laser pulses. The diffraction pattern strongly disturbs the observation of the air plasma, so the origin and eliminating method of these diffraction patterns must be investigated. It is found that the Fourier transform of the periodic surface structure of either the mask mosaic of the color CCD or the pixel array of the monochrome CCD is responsible for the formation of the observed pattern. The residual surface reflection from the protection window of a CCD camera plays the essential role in forming the interesting two-dimensional diffraction spots on the same CCD sensor. Both experimental data and theoretical analyses confirm our understanding of this phenomenon. Therefore removing the protection window of the CCD camera can eliminate these diffraction patterns.