IMPLEMENTATION OF A NON-ZERO-ORDER JOINT-TRANSFORM CORRELATOR BY USE OF PHASE-SHIFTING TECHNIQUES

The implementation of non-zero-order joint-transform correlators (JTC' s) is presented. The zero-order spectra (i.e., the autocorrelation pow er spectral are removed from the joint-transform power spectrum by use of phase-shifting techniques bg; which the output diffraction and inp ut spatial domain dan more efficiently be utilized. Applications of th e phase-shifting techniques to both conventional JTC's and phase-trans formed input STC's (PJTC's) are discussed. Compared with the conventio nal JTC, the PJTC has the advantages of higher light efficiency, a bet ter signal-to-clutter ratio, and the simplicity to realize phase shift ing. We anticipate that the proposed non-zero-order JTC's should have a significant impact on the future development of more efficient STC's . (C) 1997 Optical Society of America