Interpixel cross talk that is due to diffraction and aberrations is, t
o some extent, unavoidable because of trade-offs in the design of holo
graphic storage systems. Phase masks have been proposed to avoid probl
ems encountered in Fourier-transform holographic recording, but they h
ave other effects on pixel cross talk. We investigate the effect of us
ing phase masks in the data-bearing object beam on the output interpix
el cross talk in a holographic memory system. (C) 1996 Optical Society
of America.