Synthesis of Holograms fROM Computer-Generated Output

It has long been accepted that construction of holograms by computer simulation of Maxwell´s equations of wave propagation is extremely difficult and expensive. A noteworthy and considerably less expensive departure from computer hologram generation in the strict sense is the binary Fourier hologram<R>1</R> 1< technique, but it still leaves much to be desired. These and other problems have, for most practical purposes, forced computer holography into the category of a novelty and an educational exercise.<R>2</R>