Phase synthesis in wave-optical engineering: mapping- and diffuser-type approaches

Abstract

The synthesis of phase functions to manipulate free propagation characteristics of fields is of fundamental concern in wave-optical engineering. In optical and digital holography, two basic approaches have been proposed: the use of diffuse illumination and the application of map transformation techniques. While the first approach uses a scattering concept, the latter applies geometrical optics arguments. In today's optical engineering, both concepts constitute two extreme cases of the general phase synthesis problem which is typically solved by projection algorithms. Characteristics of diffuser-type and mapping-type approaches in phase synthesis are compared with special emphasis on bandwidth, smoothing and information distribution constraints. As a basic tool, iterative Fourier transform algorithms are developed and applied, which do not stagnate in phase vortexes.