Elimination of depolarization effects in holography

The polarization of a scattered beam from any object depends on the nature of the surface of the object. Depolarization of the laser beam can occur as a result of reflections from metallic and dielectric surfaces; it can also be due to multiple scattering in some of the medialike aerosol particles when the laser beam passes through them. While recording a hologram this fact is altogether ignored, and it is assumed that object and reference beams are polarized linearly and parallel to each other. We have studied the variation of diffraction efficiency of a hologram with the degree of polarization of the object beam. There is a 43% decrease in the efficiency value when the degree of polarization falls from 1 to 0.9. A method for minimizing the effects of depolarization is suggested.