Diffraction selectivity of holograms with random phase encoding

We have analyzed the lateral sensitivity of volume holograms based on rando m phase encoding. The diffraction characteristics are associated with induc ed two-dimensional destructive interference when the random phase plate, e. g. a ground glass, is laterally shifted. The random phase plate generates t he first dimension of destructive interference, and the finite size of the hologram generates the second dimension of destructive interference. The fo rmer and the latter are responsible for the random phase multiplexing and t he shift multiplexing of holographic storage, respectively. The developed a nalysis can be used to describe the shifting sensitivity of the hologram ba sed on both random phase multiplexing and shift multiplexing. (C) 2000 Else vier Science B.V. All rights reserved.