ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the basic principles, analytical methods, and terminology of holography. Many of the hologram-recording geometries are introduced that have proven useful in many different applications. Holography accomplishes this by adding a carrier or reference beam with the object beam and recording the resulting interference pattern. The holographic recording and reconstruction process consists of three steps: superimposing the object and reference beams to form an interference pattern; exposing a recording material to the interference pattern and convert it to a physical holographic grating; and reconstructing the holographic image. The type of material used to record the holographic grating has a significant impact on the efficiency of the reconstructed image. Another hologram configuration that is useful for microscopy applications is the “far-field” or Fraunhofer geometry. The dispersive effect of a hologram can be used in a spectrometer to resolve different spectral components of an incident optical beam.
