Co-axis digital holography based on sinusoidal phase modulation using generalized lock-in detection

Abstract : Sinusoidal phase modulating (SPM) interferometers are used to precisely measure complex light fields with simple interferometric setups. Recently, a generalized lock-in technique has been proposed for optimizing the signal extraction in phase-modulated interferometers. This article shows its applicability in digital holography as well as digital holographic interferometry. A compact homemade setup based on the Michelson interferometer was used to observe the scattering sample surface with a spatial resolution of 32 LP/mm; out-of-plane rotation was measured with a theoretical detection limit of 0.004°. The comparison between the generalized lock-in detection and traditional SPM interferometer method was done theoretically and experimentally.