Simultaneous reconstruction of phase and amplitude contrast from a single holographic record

We present a reconstruction technique for simultaneous retrieval of absorption and phase shifting properties of an object recorded by in-line holography. The routine is experimentally tested by applying it to optical holograms of a pure phase respectively a pure amplitude object of micrometer dimensions that has been machined into a glass-plate using a focused ion beam. The method has also been applied to previously published electron holograms of single DNA molecules.