Phase and Amplitude Retrieval in Ghost Diffraction from Field-Correlation Measurements

We report the results of experiments about the inversion of ghost diffraction with pseudothermal light. A complete retrieval of the complex transmission function of planar transparencies, illuminated by spatially incoherent, quasimonochromatic light, is achieved. This is obtained by measuring the field (instead of the intensity) correlation function. In particular, the determination of the phase of the correlation function is made particularly easy and robust by the use of a suitably modified Young interferometer. The presented results refer to the cases of a clear slit and a phase step.