Fourier-domain holography in photorefractive quantum-well films

Fourier-domain holography (FDH) is investigated as a candidate for holographic optical coherence imaging to produce real-time images of structure inside living tissue and turbid media. The effects of spatial filtering, the background intensity distributions, and the role of background noise in determining dynamic range are evaluated for both FDH and image-domain holography (IDH). The grating washout effect in FDH (edge enhancement) is removed by use of a vibrating diffuser that consequently improves the image quality. By comparing holographic images and background images of FDH and IDH we show that FDH provides a higher dynamic range and a higher image quality than IDH for this specific application of imaging diffuse volumetric objects.