Safe range of free space light propagation calculation in single precision
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Updated: Apr 15, 2026

Implementation of a Reference Interferometer for Nanodetection
Published on: April 26, 2014
Abstract:
Calculations of free space light propagation, such as those used in digital holography, deal with distances much longer than a wavelength. Computer representation of real numbers must therefore provide enough precision to handle this situation. We show that single precision must be used with the utmost care, which is especially important in GPU calculations. We also show that Fresnel approximation significantly improves single precision calculations for distances bigger than about one metre.
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