ONE-DIMENSIONAL DIFFUSER FOR A 3-DIMENSIONAL IMAGING-SYSTEM

An analysis is made of a method of using a photographic plate to obtai n a diffuser whose scattering indicatrix in one direction is more than two orders of magnitude wider than that in the perpendicular directio n. This method involves recording a particular speckle pattern on a ph otographic plate. A description is given of the photochemical treatmen t of the plate used to ensure that the diffuser does not possess a zer oth diffraction order. An analysis is made of the difference between t he theoretical and experimentally measured scattering indicatrix of th e diffuser. This difference is attributable to the nonlinearity of the diffuser fabrication process. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics. [S1063-7850(98)01303-2]