A novel phase retrieval technique based on propagation diversity via a dielectric slab

This paper deals with a novel technique to determine the far field of an aperture starting from the knowledge of two near-field intensity data sets collected over the same measurement plane. The diversity between the two intensity data sets is achieved by ensuring different conditions of the near field propagation between the aperture and the measurement plane. In particular, one measurement is performed under free-space propagation condition while the second one is performed by exploiting a dielectric slab, with known properties, filling partly the space between the aperture and the measurement plane. A phase retrieval technique, that faces a non linear inverse problem, is solved by assuming as unknown the plane wave spectrum of the aperture field. The feasibility of the novel approach is presented also in comparison with the usual near field phase retrieval technique exploiting measurements of the near field intensity over two scanning planes. © 2007 Optical Society of America.