PHY293

PRA0104

Ali Aftabjahani: 1001666716

1001565674

Robert Bazzocchi:

Holography
Introduction
Holography is the technique that arose as an alternative to that of photography. It uses a coherent light
source in order to produce a three-dimensional image on a photographic film or plate (used in this lab),
which differs from the two-dimensional image that is produced in photography. Traditionally, to create a
hologram, a monochromatic light is split and sent along two different paths, later to recombine. By
placing an object in one of the optical paths, the resulting interference pattern that occurs when the two
lights are recombined will be dependent on the configuration of the object, thus will have the details of
the objects wave front. However, in this lab, instead of having two coherent lights, one coherent laser is
used to shine through the photographic plate and reflect off the object back onto the plate. This allows the
two beams to create interference patterns. By developing the plate and shining a reference beam on it, the
light is forced to follow the interference patterns within the plate and recreate the 3D perception of the
object. This is known as a hologram. This lab uses photography techniques to create a hologram which is
a difficult and very error-prone task. It is vital to follow the procedure with extreme precision to ensure a
higher chance of success.

Equipment

5 mW HeNe laser and laser stand

Protractor

Mirror and mirror stand

Retort stand and rod

Spatial filter stand

o 10x microscope objective lens
o 25 m pinhole

Small object for holograph (Marilyn

Monroe)

Plate holder stand

Green safety light

Photographic plate (sealed in a box)

Metal plate holder

Dummy plate

Kodak D-19 (1:1) Developer fluid

Shutter

Kodak D-19 (1:1) Fixer fluid

Magnets

Dryer

Vibration-free table covered by a

magnetic surface

Procedure
Note: All measurements listed throughout the procedure carry uncertainties that are later discussed in the
Measurements section of this lab.

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Part A: Pre-lab Preparation

1) Before any in-lab procedures began, the necessary equipment including: a lux meter, a microscopic
lens, a pinhole, a dummy plate, and an object of choice (Marilyn Monroe doll) were obtained from the
physics lab resource center.

Part B: Setup
Mirror

Spatial Filter
Plate Holder Stand

Dummy Plate

Shutter
Laser

1) To optimize accuracy in measurements, the shutter, mirror, spatial filter stand, and plate holder were
adjusted to be as close to the table as possible.
2) The equipment mentioned in the previous step was placed in appropriate order as seen in the image
above; laser beam, mirror, spatial filter, plate holder, dummy plate.
Note: The shutter was left out of the initial setup to make the alignment and adjustment of the light beam
an easier process.
3) Magnets were placed at the base of each stand to secure their positions and minimize any movement
that would cause variation in the orientation of the beam.
4) The laser beam was then checked to be parallel by measuring both the distance between the table and
the laser beam (12.1cm), and the distance between the table and the light on the mirror (12.5cm). The
adjustment knobs on the laser beam stand were used to angle the beam and obtain a more parallel light
ray, measuring at approximately 12.2cm from the table at both points.
5) The plate holder was positioned approximately 1m away from the spatial filter stand and was angled
about 55 degrees from the direction perpendicular to the incident ray. This angle, known as Brewsters
angle, was used to help minimize the reflection of incident ray upon hitting the photographic plate later
on in the experiment.
Note: The beam was not checked to be horizontally polarized as advised by the lab instructor.
6) The mirror angle was adjusted using the horizontal and vertical tilt-adjustment knobs to ensure the
reflected light ray passed through the spatial filter and aligned with the centre of the photographic plate.
Note: Direct contact with the mirror was avoided to reduce the possibility of surface contamination and
potential skewing of results.
7) The lux meter was used to record the intensity of the light before passing through the spatial filter,
obtaining a value of approximately 7 kL.

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Part C: Setting up the spatial filter and the shutter

1) The microscopic lens was screwed in place
Microscopic Lens
into the spatial filter on the side of the stand
opposite to the incoming incident ray.
2) The mirror tilt-adjustment knobs were used
to keep the beam passing through the
microscopic lens and aligned with the centre of
the plate.
3) The pinhole was then attached magnetically
to the spatial filter stand, oriented such that the
incident ray entered the narrow end and exited
the wide end.
4) The dummy plate was placed in between the
spatial filter and the plate holder and was used
as a measure of the amount of light passing
through the filter.
5) To first get the incident ray to appear on the dummy plate, the x, y, z controls on the spatial filter were
toggled with until an interference pattern appeared.
6) The microscopic lens was then adjusted slightly closer to the pinhole.
7) The x, y, z controls on the spatial filter stand were again used to maximize the amount of light seen on
the dummy plate with the newly adjusted distance.
8) Steps 6 and 7 were repeated until one central ring filled the dummy plate.
9) The lux meter was then used to record the intensity of the light after passing through the spatial filter,
obtaining a value of approximately 5 kL.
10) Finally, the shutter was placed about 10cm in front of the HeNe Laser.

Part D: Creating the hologram

1) It was made certain that there was no visible light in the room (with the exception of the green safety)
and that the shutter was closed.
2) The photographic plate was removed from the box by its edges, ensuring minimal contamination to
either side of the plate.
3) By breathing on both sides of the plate, it was easy to differentiate the emulsion side and the glass side,
as the glass fogs up. The photographic plate was replaced with the dummy plate in the plate holder,
oriented such that the glass side was
Green Light
facing the incoming incident ray.

Stand Used to Hold Photographic Plate

3

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4) The three knobs of the plate holder were used

to secure the plate in place.
5) The shutter was turned on, allowing the laser
beam to hit the plate for a period of 3 seconds.
6) The plate was then placed back inside the box
and the box was securely closed, keeping the
plate from any exposure to light.

Part E: Developing the hologram

1) The plate was taken to the dark room where
only the green light was allowed on.
2) The photographic plate was placed into a metal
plate holder.
3) The plate was dipped into the Kodak D-19 (1:1) developer and was swayed back and forth for 4
minutes, stopping midway at 2 minutes to turn the plate around.
4) The plate was given a quick rinse using cold water to remove any excess chemicals present on the plate
and immediately dipped into the Kodak D-19 (1:1) fixer. Once again it was swayed back and forth for 10
minutes and at 5 minutes, turned around.
5) The plate was placed in a bin of cold water for 5 minutes.
6) Finally, the plate was placed into a dryer and was dried for 10 minutes.
7) Plate was fully developed and ready for observing.

Measurements
Note: Lux meter values continuously fluctuated during the measurement of light intensity, resulting in a
large error in the ratio shown below.
Height of laser beam at HeNe Laser: 12.2 cm 0.1 cm
Height of laser beam at mirror: 12.2 0.1 cm
Laser intensity at HeNe Laser: 7 kL 43%
Laser intensity after pinhole: 5 kL 60%
Laser intensity ratio: 0.7143 103%
Angle of plate holder: 55 0.5

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Result and Possible Sources of Error

The result of the holograph development was
unsuccessful in capturing all the interference patterns
from our object, though a glimpse of Marilyn
Monroes foot was visible. The image below attempts
to capture this in the circled region shown:

Foot of Marilyn
Monroe

Note: The foot in the image is difficult to see, but the

tint of green relative to the black colour of the plate
is a little more obvious.
A potential source of error that may have resulted in
this less successful output was the fact that the greenlight was kept on throughout the creating of the hologram. The light rays given off from the green-light
could have interfered with the diffracted light rays from the incident ray and caused less dominant
patterns to form within the plate. Additionally, the light beam itself may have been slightly off centre
relative to the orientation of our object behind the photographic plate leaving only part of the objects
wavefront to be captured by the plate. This explains why only the foot of our object was visible in our
result.

Questions
1. A latent image is an image formed on photographic negatives after exposure but before it
has been developed. Is it different from a holographic image? If so, how?
To be able to answer this question, one must fully understand what holographic and latent images
are and how they are created. Both make use of a photographic plate so it is wise to know about this as
well.
The photographic emulsion is made up of silver halides which are very sensitive to light with
wavelengths less than about 500 nm [1]. When light is shone upon the plate, the emulsion loses its
crystalline structure due to the severance in the atomic bonds caused by the halides absorbing the energy.
A latent image is a stable speck of metallic silver that is formed when the silver atoms are
released [1]. In other words, it is the invisible configuration of silver halide crystals [2] on the emulsion,
so it is not visible as is. Simplified, a hologram is a photographic plate that has been exposed to laser light
and processed so that when illuminated appropriately, it produces a three-dimensional image [3].
Strictly speaking, a hologram consists of a latent image in addition to a development process. It is
created after the emulsion plate has gone through a Developer (reduction) followed by a Fixer (fixation).
Recalling the earlier explanation about the sensitivity of the emulsion to light; a latent image can
and will be made immediately so long as white light is present. However white light is made up of many
different wavelengths. In holography only a coherent light (laser) can be present and all other light are to
be absent from the presence of the plate with exception of a safety light to ensure that only a
monochromatic light this the plate.
A latent image is perceived as a 2-dimensional image due to the fact that it only views an object
from one angle, reflecting only a slice of the light shining on it. Whereas in holographic imaging, the light

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diffraction and interference patterns formulated by a 3D object in the path of light are captured in the
photographic plate in the development process.
All in all, we state that a latent image and a holographic image are not the same.

2. Suppose you dropped your hologram and it shattered into small pieces. What do you expect
to see on each piece?
A hologram is seen when the reconstruction beam (the light that is shone on the plate) re-creates
the original object beam. This being said, the image of the object is proportionally dispersed upon the
holographic region of the plate. This gives us the expectation that if our hologram were to drop and
shatter, each individual piece will have limited perspectives of Marilyn Monroe (our object). For example,
if we were to take a piece from the left side of the plate, we would be viewing the image from an angle
where we predominantly see the left side of Marilyn Monroe.
Earlier we said each piece will have a limited perspective, this is because one will still
experience the parallax effect when looking at the shattered pieces, thus allowing one to see the entire
object. However, since the pieces are shattered, the range of perspectives will be limited. A good analogy
to use for understanding this concept is the holographic plate as a window to seeing the object [4]. If you
were to pick any point on a window and look out at an object from that particular angle, you will see the
entirety of the object but from a different perspective that you would from looking through the same
window at a different point. By this analogy, it is easy to understand that the object can be seen in each
individual piece of the photographic plate but no two pieces will view the object with the same
perspective.

3. How is the image on a piece of a hologram different from one on the hologram before it
shattered?
In the previous answer we stated that the image of the object is proportionally spread upon the
holographic region of the plate. This means that within that specific region in which the hologram exists
before being shattered, we have the maximum number of perspectives possible (we do not say all the
possible perspectives as the transfer of the image to the plate is not 100%). We follow up on this by
restating that as the pieces are shattered, the pieces will contain perspectives corresponding to their
region. Thus, although the parallax effect would possibly allow one to see the entire object, it would only
be from the perspectives contained in that region where the piece is from.

4. Holographic images have a special property that the information contained on one piece
has the ability to reconstruct the entire image. Why does this happen?
As mentioned in the introduction of the lab instructions; when creating a hologram, all of the
information of the object is stored not only in the hologram as a whole but inside each individual piece as
well. This implies that an individual piece has the ability to reconstruct the entire object. The reason for
this is that if an object is placed in the path of the reference beam, then there is a disturbance in the pattern
dependent on the objects contour. The interference patterns are then captured by the photographic plate
and so by shining light on the pieces, the light will be forced to follow the interference patterns which
results in the reconstruction of the objects wavefront. We see this wavefront identical to the actual object.

Conclusion & Final Thoughts

The holography experiment was successful in bringing forth the opportunity to learn about the
science in holographic imaging and practice the physical processes required to create and develop a

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hologram. It is known that using photography techniques to create a hologram is a very difficult and
error-prone task. The procedure must be done very precisely and constant readjustment to the equipment
is to be made to ensure a successful result. To increase the success rate of such an experiment, some
modifications should be implemented to both the procedure and possibly equipment used. An example of
equipment modification would be to have a green HeNe laser instead of a red one. This is because the
wavelength of the green laser (~543nm) is much closer to sensitivity of the silver halides than the red
laser. An example of modifying the procedure would be to have the laser to point directly at the plate
instead of reflecting off the mirror, however this would only be the case if the lasers intensity is such that
the plate can handle it without damage.
Overall, this experiment allowed us to appreciate the technique of holography while also gaining
experience in using lasers and new measuring devices in the laboratory environment. Although the result
was not as successful as one hoped, it was very rewarding to see a glimpse of a part of our object in the
hologram. With the potential in hologram technology and the ever-growing desire for 3D imaging,
holograms can be used throughout society in a variety of different ways, and the lessons learned from this
lab will undoubtedly be of use in any similar experiments conducted in the future.

References
[1] Saxby, Graham. Practical Holography. Bristol, UK: Institute of Physics Pub., 2004. Print. Materials,
Exposure and Processing, p. 58-59.
[2] Latent image | Photography. Retrieved October 9, 2015, from
http://www.britannica.com/technology/latent-image
[3] Saxby, Graham. Practical Holography. Bristol, UK: Institute of Physics Pub., 2004. Print. What is a
hologram? p. 3.
[4] "Holography - Virtual Gallery." Holography - Virtual Gallery. Web. 10 Oct. 2015.
<http://www.holography.ru/maineng.htm>.