Sensor influence in digital 3λ holographic interferometry

In digital holographic interferometry, the resolution of the reconstructed hologram depends on the pixel size and pixel number of the sensor used for recording. When different wavelengths are simultaneously used as a luminous source for the interferometer, the shape and the overlapping of three filters of a color sensor strongly influence the three reconstructed images. This problem can be directly visualized in 2D Fourier planes on red, green and blue channels. To better understand this problem and to avoid parasitic images generated at the reconstruction, three different sensors have been tested: a CCD sensor equipped with a Bayer filter, a Foveon sensor and a 3CCD sensor. The first one is a Bayer mosaic where one half of the pixels detect the green color and only one-quarter detect the red or blue color. As the missing data are interpolated among color detection positions, offsets and artifacts are generated. The second one is a specific sensor constituted with three stacked photodiode layers. Its technology is different from that of the classical color mosaic sensor because each pixel location detects the three colors simultaneously. So, the three colors are recorded simultaneously with identical spatial resolution, which corresponds to the spatial resolution of the sensor. However, the spectral curve of the sensor is large along each wavelength since the color segmentation is based on the penetration depth of the photons in silicon. Finally, with a 3CCD sensor, each image is recorded on three different sensors with the same resolution. In order to test the sensor influence, we have developed a specific optical bench which allows the near wake flow around a circular cylinder at Mach 0.45 to be characterized. Finally, best results have been obtained with the 3CDD sensor.