Digital holography for quantitative phase-contrast imaging

We present a new application of digital holography for phase-contrast imagi ng and optical metrology. This holographic imaging technique uses a CCD cam era for recording of a digital Fresnel off-axis hologram and a numerical me thod for hologram reconstruction. The method simultaneously provides an amp litude-contrast image and a quantitative phase-contrast image. An applicati on to surface profilometry is presented and shows excellent agreement with contact-stylus probe measurements. (C) 1999 Optical Society of America.