Digital recording and optical reconstruction of holograms on transparent film

Abstract

This article analytically and experimentally provides the principle of hologram construction and reconstruction using a single thin-lens system. Instead of recording on a holographic film, the interference pattern between the reference beam and the object beam is digitally recorded in an image file using CCD camera and the real hologram is printed on a transparent film (overhead projector film). Finally, the real images of the object are then experimentally reconstructed by an optical system. Moreover, the numerical analysis involved in the hologram reconstruction is also presented in order to compare with the practical result. The methods of hologram construction on the transparent film and optical reconstruction are worked out here in detail. By avoiding chemical processes, we may save time and reduce any cost incurred. This experiment can readily be performed in an undergraduate physics laboratory.