Distortion-free multiplexed holography in striated photorefractive media

Growth-induced striations in photorefractive media constitute phase gratings that scatter transmitted light and therefore degrade the quality of reconstructed images in holographic applications. A simple angular multiplexed holographic memory arrangement in a striated strontium barium niobate sample is considered. For forward-propagating reconstruction the striations distort the readout images and introduce ghost images. For counterpropagating readout, inhomogeneous image reconstruction and interimage cross talk can occur. We investigate these effects experimentally for different reconstruction methods and demonstrate the cross talk and the ghost images with a simple model based on coupled-wave theory. Readout with a counterpropagating plane wave eliminates the ghost images and the distortions but suffers degradation from cross talk and inhomogeneous image intensity. Only reconstruction with a phase conjugate of the transmitted reference beam eliminates cross talk and distortions. The model indicates that negligible material dispersion is a necessary requirement for high-quality phaseconjugation readout.