Reflection volume holographic scanners with field-curvature corrections

A new type of polygonal holographic scanner that combines a reflection volume hologram with a computer-generated hologram (CGH) is described. The scanner is free from the aberration of field curvature. Such a scanning system can allow for a compact folded version of the scanner and Bragg diffraction into only a single order. The equations expressing the spatial-variable image distance are derived and are fit to the phase function designated by polynomials incorporated into a CGH in terms of the least-squares method. A reflection scanner with field-curvature correction is made by interfering a diffracted wave front from this CGH with a spherical wave front having scanning focal power through a second plane hologram. Experiments demonstrating the feasibility of this scanner are presented. Raster-scan patterns using a multifaceted scanner are shown. Helpful data on the diffraction efficiency and the spectrally diffracted intensity of reflection holograms are also presented.