Partially coherent holography: Its properties and applications

A new holographic method is proposed in which an object is illuminated with partially coherent radiation. A study is made of the physical basis and limitations of the method. The method is based on recording of the fields of longitudinal and transverse spatial coherence of a scattered wave, which represent the optical properties of an object illuminated with partially coherent radiation. Transmission and reflection holograms can be produced by this method. Partially coherent holograms are shown to have a number of unique properties, which can be used in holographic microscopy, disdrometry, nonoptical holography, and in other ways. A new method for recording particle tracks in detectors is proposed.