Uniqueness of phase retrieval from intensity measurements

Abstract

The question of the uniqueness of the determination of the phase of a wave field from the knowledge of its intensity in the aperture plane and focal plane of a thin lens is investigated. It is shown that if the wave field intensity across the lens is uniform and the phase is represented by means of nine lowest-order Zernike polynomials, the phase can be determined uniquely (except for the well-known twin solution ambiguity) from its aperture-plane and focal-plane intensities. The twin ambiguity is discussed in physical terms that allow one to eliminate it.