Direct phase determination in hologram interferometry with use of digitally recorded holograms

A new method of phase determination in hologram interferometry is described. The Fresnel holograms, which represent the undeformed and the deformed states of the object, are generated on a CCD target and stored electronically. No lens or other imaging device is used. The reconstruction is done from the digitally stored holograms with mathematical methods. It is shown that the intensity as well as the phase can be calculated from the digitally sampled holograms. A comparison of the phases of the undeformed and the deformed states permits direct determination of the interference phase.