Resolution enhancement in digital holography by self-extrapolation of holograms

TL;DR

This paper introduces a method to enhance digital holography resolution by self-extrapolating holograms through iterative reconstruction, allowing retrieval of wavefronts beyond the captured area, demonstrated on simulated and experimental data.

Contribution

It presents a novel technique to surpass traditional resolution limits in digital holography by self-extrapolating holograms using padding and iterative reconstruction.

Findings

Resolution is improved beyond the physical hologram size.

Method works on both simulated and real holograms.

Enhanced detail in reconstructed images.

Abstract

It is generally believed that the resolution in digital holography is limited by the size of the captured holographic record. Here, we present a method to circumvent this limit by self-extrapolating experimental holograms beyond the area that is actually captured. This is done by first padding the surroundings of the hologram and then conducting an iterative reconstruction procedure. The wavefront beyond the experimentally detected area is thus retrieved and the hologram reconstruction shows enhanced resolution. To demonstrate the power of this concept, we apply it to simulated as well as experimental holograms.