Phase-shifting digital holographic microscopy with an iterative blind reconstruction algorithm.

In phase-shifting digital holographic microscopy (PS-DHM), the reconstructed phase map is obtained after processing several holograms of the same scene with a phase shift between them. Most of the reconstruction algorithms in PS-DHM require an accurate and known phase shift between the recorded holograms. This requirement limits the applicability of the method. To ease the use of PS-DHM, this paper presents an iterative-blind phase shift extraction method based on demodulation of the different components of the recorded holograms. The method uses a DHM system operating in a slightly off-axis architecture. The proposed method uses three-frame holograms with arbitrary and unequal phase shifts between them and therefore eases the use of the PS-DHM. We believe both simulated and experimental results demonstrate the goodness and feasibility of the proposed technique.