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A recognition process consisting of two cascaded correlation stages with a sigmoid nonlinearity applied in the first correlation plane is investigated. The filters are computed to give prespecified central correlation amplitudes in the second correlation plane when inputs are reference images. It is also desired that the second correlation amplitudes with the training images should minimize the cost function of the automatic spatial-frequency selection algorithm to reduce distortion sensitivity and to improve the performance of the filters. Filter computation methods are given, and it is shown why two such correlation processes may improve the correlation performance. Numerical simulations are described and compared with the one-stage correlation system that works with the automatic spatial-frequency selection filter.

We describe a method to implement the recognition and the orientation determination of in-plane rotated images by means of nonredundant correlation filters which maximize the number of discernible patterns. The filters are computed with the minimum averaged correlation energy algorithm on specifically prefiltered reference images, with a view to the foreseen application, to reduce the intraclass sensitivity and improve the interclass discrimination. Simulation results of the correlation are provided and compared with those obtained with the standard minimum averaged correlation energy filters.

We investigate the use of a digital holographic microscope working in partially coherent illumination to study in three dimensions a micrometer-size particle flow. The phenomenon under investigation rapidly varies in such a way that it is necessary to record, for every camera frame, the complete holographic information for further processing. For this purpose, we implement the Fourier-transform method for optical amplitude extraction. The suspension of particles is flowing in a split-flow lateral-transport thin separation cell that is usually used to separate the species by their sizes. Details of the optical implementation are provided. Examples of reconstructed images of different particle sizes are shown, and a particle-velocity measurement technique that is based on the blurred holographic image is exploited.

Digital holographic interferometry in the long-wave infrared domain has been developed by combining a CO(2) laser and a microbolometer array. The long wavelength allows large deformation measurements, which are of interest in the case of large space reflectors undergoing thermal changes when in orbit. We review holography at such wavelengths and present some specific aspects related to this spectral range on our measurements. For the design of our digital holographic interferometer, we studied the possibility of illuminating specular objects by a reflective diffuser. We discuss the development of the interferometer and the results obtained on a representative space reflector, first in the laboratory and then during vacuum cryogenic test.

In this paper, we investigate the use of a digital holographic microscope working with partially coherent spatial illumination for an automated detection and classification of living organisms. A robust automatic method based on the computation of propagating matrices is proposed to detect the 3D position of organisms. We apply this procedure to the evaluation of drinking water resources by developing a classification process to identify parasitic protozoan Giardia lamblia cysts among two other similar organisms. By selecting textural features from the quantitative optical phase instead of morphological ones, a robust classifier is built to propose a new method for the unambiguous detection of Giardia lamblia cyst that present a critical contamination risk.

We investigate the use of a digital holographic microscope working with partially coherent spatial illumination to study concentration profiles inside confined deformable bodies flowing in microchannels. The studied phenomenon is rapidly changing in time and requires the recording of the complete holographic information for every frame. For this purpose, we implemented one of the classical methods of off-axis digital holography: the Fourier method. Digital holography allows one to numerically investigate a volume by refocusing the different planes of depth, allowing one to locate the objects under investigation in three dimensions. Furthermore, the phase is directly related to the refractive index, thus to the concentration inside the body. Based on simple symmetry assumptions, we present an original method for determining the concentration profiles inside deformable objects in microconfined flows. Details of the optical and numerical implementation, as well as exemplative experimental results are presented.

When a reconstruction is performed on a digital holographic image that contains small objects at different depths, diffraction that is due to out-of-focus objects disrupts the visibility of the nearby focused objects. We propose a method to substitute for focused object amplitudes other amplitudes that will reduce propagation diffraction effects when other depths are investigated. The replacement amplitudes are computed by use of an algorithm that reduces the highest spatial frequencies of the resultant image. The theoretical aspects of the method are presented, and results for simulated and experimental examples are shown.

We investigate a digital holographic microscope that permits us to modify the spatial coherence state of the sample illumination by changing the spot size of a laser beam on a rotating ground glass. Out-of-focus planes are refocused by digital holographic reconstruction with numerical implementation of the Kirchhoff-Fresnel integral. The partial coherence nature of the illumination reduces the coherent artifact noise with respect to fully coherent illumination. The investigated configuration allows the spatial coherence state to be changed without modifying the illumination level of the sample. The effect of the coherence state on the digital holographic reconstruction is theoretically and experimentally evaluated. We also show how multiple reflection interferences are limited by the use of reduced spatial coherent illumination.

A quantitative autocalibrated high-resolution schlieren technique for quantitative measurement of reflective surface shape is proposed. It combines the schlieren principle with the phase-shifting technique that is generally used in interferometry. With an appropriate schlieren filter and appropriately tailored setup, some schlieren fringes are generated. After application of the phase-shift technique, the schlieren phase is calculated and converted into beam deviation values. Theoretical and experimental demonstrations are given. The technique is validated on a reference target, and then its application in a fluid physics experiment is demonstrated. These two examples show the potential of the phase-shifting schlieren technique that in some situations can become competitive with interferometry but with a much better dynamic range and with variable sensitivity. The technique can also be used to measure refractive-index gradients in transparent media.

We describe the implementation of the automatic spatial-frequency-selection filter for recognition of patterns obtained with a digital holographic microscope working with a partially coherent source. The microscope provides the complex-optical-amplitude field that allows a refocusing plane-by-plane of the sample under investigation by numerical computation of the optical propagation. By inserting a correlation filter in the propagation equation, the correlation between the filter and the propagated optical field is obtained. In this way, the pattern is located in the direction of the optical axis. Owing to the very weak noise level generated by the partially coherent source, the correlation process is shift invariant. Therefore the samples can be located in the three dimensions. To have a robust recognition process, a generalized version of the automatic spatial-frequency-selection filters has been implemented. The method is experimentally demonstrated in a two-class problem for the recognition of protein crystals.

Linear-correlation amplitude changes when the intensity level of the input image is modified. As recognition is often based on the correlation-peak level, a change of the input illumination may result in a false recognition. We propose an illumination-change compensation by a post processing of the correlation distribution that is based on statistical measures of the correlation histograms. The theoretical background and simulation results are provided in the frame of an actual application in biology.

When a digital holographic reconstruction is performed, digital diffraction effects occur at the borders when the hologram amplitudes at the two opposite border points are different on each vertical or horizontal line. We propose a method of digital hologram extension to reduce such diffraction effects. The method consists of extending the size of the digital hologram and of filling the extended part by complex values that minimize, according to a numerical criterion, the highest spatial frequencies. The theoretical aspects of the method are given and the results from a demonstration are provided.

A digital holographic technique is implemented in a microscope for three-dimensional imaging reconstruction. The setup is a Mach-Zehnder interferometer that uses an incoherent light source to remove the coherent noise that is inherent in the laser sources. A phase-stepping technique determines the optical phase in the image plane of the microscope. Out-of-focus planes are refocused by digital holographic computations, thus considerably enlarging the depth of investigation without the need to change the optical focus mechanically. The technique can be implemented in transmission for various magnification ratios and can cover a wide range of applications. Performances and limitations of the microscope are theoretically evaluated. Experimental results for a test target are given, and examples of two applications in particle localization and investigation of biological sample are provided.

We propose an automatic spatial frequency selection correlation filter that reduces the sensitivity to nonoverlapping noise or background clutter. This is achieved by inclusion of distorted versions of the reference images surrounded by nonoverlapping background clutter. Furthermore, we impose that the window functions of the reference images give response zero-correlation amplitudes. Simulation results are provided in the case of a two-class pattern-recognition problem and show that the results are appreciably increased. The results are compared with a normal automatic spatial frequency selection.

A new type of differential interferometer based on holographic optical elements is developed which allows a refractive index gradient field to be determined in two orthogonal directions obtained sequentially with a PLZT electrooptic modulator. The sign of the gradient is unequivocally determined by using a reference fringe pattern added to the interferogram. The sensitivity of the device is easily adjustable by changing the position of only one optical component.