Phase retrieval based on the irradiance transport equation and the Fourier transform method: experiments

Experimental demonstrations of deterministic phase retrieval based on the Teague-Streibl irradiance transport equation are presented. A new technique is proposed, in which the transport equation is solved by the Fourier transform method for a periodic boundary condition with high spatial carrier frequency, which is created by making a light beam with unknown phase distribution pass through a grating. Quantitative phase measurements were performed by experiments without recourse to interferometry, and the results were found to be in good agreement with theory.