High speed digital holography for density and fluctuation measurements

The state of the art in electro-optics has advanced to the point where digital holographic acquisition of wavefronts is now possible. Holographic wavefront acquisition provides the phase of the wavefront at every measurement point. This can be done with accuracy on the order of a thousandth of a wavelength, given that there is sufficient care in the design of the system. At wave frequencies which are much greater than the plasma frequency, the plasma index of refraction is linearly proportional to the electron density and wavelength, and the measurement of the phase of a wavefront passing through the plasma gives the chord-integrated density directly for all points measured on the wavefront. High-speed infrared cameras (up to ∼40 000 fps at ∼64×4 pixels) with resolutions up to 640×512 pixels suitable for use with a CO₂ laser are readily available, if expensive.