Phase filters for correlators with incoherent light

Optimized phase filters can be designed and incorporated into hybrid electronic-optic correlators that exploit incoherent light. These filters lead to high optical efficiency and little, if any, loss of information that normally result from discarding amplitude data. The optimization procedure was experimentally tested by recording optimized filters in photo resist and incorporating them into the correlator. The optimization algorithm, the filter recording procedures, and the experiment correlation results demonstrating the efficacy of our design are presented. These results are superior when compared to those of correlators using holographic filters.