Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 29, 2026

Compact Lens-less Digital Holographic Microscope for MEMS Inspection and Characterization
Published on: July 5, 2016
Coherence effects in digital in-line holographic microscopy
Unnikrishnan Gopinathan1, Giancarlo Pedrini, Wolfgang Osten
1Institut für Technische Optik, Universitäat Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldering 9, Stuttgart, Germany. unni.gopinathan@gmail.com
Partial coherence in digital in-line holographic microscopy broadens the impulse response. This finding, observed in simulations and experiments with latex beads, impacts image quality in holographic imaging systems.
Area of Science:
- Optics and Photonics
- Microscopy
- Holography
Background:
- Digital in-line holographic microscopy (DIHM) is a powerful imaging technique.
- The coherence of illumination light critically affects image formation in holographic systems.
- Understanding these effects is crucial for optimizing DIHM performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the impact of partial coherence on image formation in DIHM.
- To model the relationship between light coherence and the impulse response in DIHM.
- To experimentally validate the theoretical model.
Main Methods:
- Developed a model describing the impulse response as a function of cross-spectral density in the space-frequency domain.
- Performed numerical simulations to study the effect of reduced light coherence.
- Conducted experiments using DIHM to image latex beads with varying coherence levels.
Main Results:
- Numerical simulations demonstrated that reduced light coherence leads to a broadening of the impulse response.
- Experimental results confirmed the broadening of the impulse response with decreased spatial and temporal coherence.
- Partial coherence was shown to directly influence the resolution and fidelity of DIHM images.
Conclusions:
- Partial coherence significantly degrades the impulse response in DIHM.
- The findings provide a theoretical and experimental basis for understanding coherence effects in holographic microscopy.
- Controlling light coherence is essential for achieving high-resolution imaging with DIHM.
Related Concept Videos
Phase Contrast and Differential Interference Contrast Microscopy
In-phase-contrast microscopes, interference between light directly passing through a cell and light refracted by cellular components is used to create high-contrast, high-resolution images without staining. It is the oldest and simplest type of microscope that creates an image by altering the wavelengths of light rays passing through the specimen. Altered wavelength paths are created using an annular stop in the condenser. The annular stop produces a hollow cone of...
Imaging Biological Samples with Optical Microscopy
In optical microscopy, the specimen to be viewed is placed on a glass slide and clipped on the stage...
Confocal Fluorescence Microscopy
Two-Dimensional Microscopy in Microbiology
Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence Microscopy
Three-Dimensional Microscopy in Microbiology

