Single-shot phase-shifting digital holography

We propose a digital holographic imaging system that is capable of recording/measuring the amplitude and phase of an optical wavefront in a single shot. Based on the principle of digital holography (DH), the proposed system uses a reference beam to interfere with the light field under investigation and digitally records/measures the in-phase and quadrature interference patterns. Single-shot in-phase and quadrature interference pattern recording is made possible by incorporating the technologies widely used in coherent optical communication. Specifically, a free-space optical 90-deg hybrid is employed to measure the complex (real and imaginary) optical field. We have constructed a single-shot phase-shifting digital holography system and experimentally demonstrated its operation. (C) 2014 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)