Application of longitudinal multimode laser coherence properties to increase the holographic depth of field

It has been shown that the temporal coherence of a non-mode-locked laser is periodic in 2L/c. It has also been demonstrated that the limitations imposed on the depth of field in holography by the laser coherence properties may easily be overcome by illuminating the object with multiple beams. In such a system each object beam should travel the same distance to the holographic plate as the reference beam, or a multiple of 2L farther. For large objects (which would have large depths of field) multiple beam illumination is necessary anyway, to ensure uniform illumination of the object. In fact the limiting factor with regard to the size of an object and the depth of field should be the laser's power and not its coherence length. An advantage in this method of overcoming conventional limitations is that there is no reduction in the laser's output power as is involved in some other methods of coherence length improvement.