Holography

Sarah Moore & Bobby Scott

Optical Engineering- Dr. Kasra Daneshvar

Abstract

Holography is one of the most rapidly developing fields of imagery. A

hologram, which is derived from the Greeks words for “whole message,” utilizes
a laser to produce necessary light, rather than a flashbulb as in photography. An
interference pattern of two laser beams is recorded to create the hologram. This
imaging technique is becoming increasingly common in industry as well as in the
average consumer’s life, and the characteristics of holography show great
potential for the new millennium. Three-dimensional movies that feature life-
sized holograms moving as a function of time have for years been depicted in
science-fiction movies like Star Wars. These will soon become a reality.
Background

Holography is a method of creating a three-dimensional record of an

object, called a hologram. In 1948 Dennis Gabor, a Hungarian scientist, first

conceived the idea of holography. His purpose was to improve the clarity of the

electron microscope by examining a hologram of the object rather than the actual

object. The layers of the hologram could be better examined because light from

the microscope could more easily pass through. Since Gabor’s experiment

required the use of a coherent light, his ideas remained impractical until the

invention of the laser in the 1960s. Lasers are the only form of coherent light

currently available. Coherent light is different than natural light in that the light

waves that compose it are in phase, meaning their troughs and crests meet. The

importance of Gabor’s work was finally recognized in 1971 when he received the

Nobel Prize for Physics.

Emmett Leith and Juris Upatnieks read Gabor’s paper and in 1964 created

the first hologram. Their hologram required the use of a laser to read the image.

As advancements in holography were made, images could be read with white

light.

Today, holograms can be found everywhere. They are on credit cards,

drivers’ licenses, baseball cards, 3-D movies, and cereal box inserts. Holograms

are widely used in industry as well, from advanced computers to detecting

defects in pipes.

Lasers in Holography
 To understand holography, a person must be acquainted with the basic

principles of lasers. Lasers are based on three parts and three ideas. The first

part is called the active medium. This contains the atoms that emit packages of

light known as photons. Common mediums include crystals, argon, and a gas

mixture of helium and neon. Another component is the pumping mechanism,

such as a battery or power source. This gives energy to the atoms to enable the

electrons to emit the photons. Finally, a laser has a resonating cavity produced

by mirrors facing each other. This causes photons to bounce back and forth,

building up energy. (See figure 1.)

The three ideas of a laser are absorption, spontaneous emission, and

stimulated emission. An atom has electrons orbiting the nucleus in specific

energy levels. When an electron gains energy, or gets “excited”, it moves up an

energy level. When the electron moves back to its original energy level, it

releases the energy previously absorbed in the form of a photon of light. This

concept is applied to lasers.

The pumping mechanism of a laser excites electrons in the atoms of the

active medium by supplying energy. This process is absorption. Spontaneous

emission of a photon occurs when one electron drops to its original energy level.

This photon can be used to stimulate another electron to create another photon

in phase with the original. When this process is repeated it forms a large

coherent beam. This beam is reflected back and forth between two mirrors,

building up energy. One mirror is a partial mirror, which allows a fraction of the

beam to pass through, providing the laser beam that is used in holography.
How Holograms Are Made

The process of forming a basic thin hologram begins by directing a laser

beam onto a partial mirror, splitting the beam. One half of the beam, the

reference beam, is then reflected onto a holographic plate. The other half of the

beam, the object beam, is directed onto the object to be recorded as a hologram.

The uneven surface of the object distorts the beam and then reflects it to the

holographic plate. The reference beam and the object beam meet and interfere

with each other. The crests and troughs of the beams are added together to

create an interference pattern. This pattern is recorded on the plate as a series

of lines and swirls. (See figure 2.)

To read the hologram a beam identical to the reference beam is aimed at

the holographic plate. The lines and swirls from the interference pattern bend the

light so that a viewer looking at the plate sees a three-dimensional reconstruction

of the original object on the other side of the plate. (See figure 3.)

Applications of Holography

The most common industrial application of holography is locating minor

defects in pressure systems. For example, water running through pipes may

develop bulges in the pipes over time. Often these bulges are so small the

human eye cannot detect them. To detect the bulges, the holographic film of a

new pipe is compared to the holographic film of the used pipe. Bulges create a

different interference pattern than a smooth surface. The same process is used
for airplane tires and pressure chambers.

Thick holograms, another category of holography, are widely used on

items such as credit cards. They are the shiny decals that appear to have color

and depth when rotated in light. Thick holograms differ from thin holograms in

that the interference pattern is recorded in a ¼ millimeter of holographic film

rather than on the surface. They appear to have color because the interference

patterns filter out various wavelengths of white light while reflecting the remaining

colors.

Smaller, more efficient computers manufactured in the near future will

utilize holographic memory. These will be able to store more information in a

smaller space than today’s computers. Holographic memory stores information

in a three-dimensional area, while traditional memory is only stored on a single

surface. Information is stored as millions of tiny holograms created by the

computer. The angle of light used to read the holograms determines what

information is retrieved.

Conclusions

While critics failed to realize the importance of Gabor’s discovery at first,

holography has become an integral part of today’s society. Perhaps Gabor’s

contemporaries never imagined that simple swirls and lines could be used to

create lifelike three-dimensional images as well as store vast amounts of

information. The invention of the photograph in 1827 is regarded as one of the

greatest inventions of the 19th century. With advancements in holography being

made everyday, the hologram might someday be considered as one of the

greatest inventions of this century.

Creating a Hologram (Fig. 2)

Reading a Hologram (Fig. 3)

 Bibliography

Daneshvar, Kasra. Personal interview. 7 July 2000.

Holography. Online. Available: http://www.holo.com. 6 July 2000.

Holography. Online. Encyclopedia Britannica. Available:

http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/9/0,5716,41719+1+40823,00.html.

6 July 2000.

Robillard, Jean and H. John Caulfield. Industrial Applications of Holography.

New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.