Holographic technologies today and tomorrow

Венедиктов В.Ю. Голографические технологии сегодня и завтра // Оптический журнал. 2022. Т. 89. № 3. С. 3–4. http://doi.org/10.17586/1023-5086-2022-89-03-03-04

Venediktov V.Yu. Holographic technologies today and tomorrow   [in Russian] // Opticheskii Zhurnal. 2022. V. 89. № 3. P. 3–4. http://doi.org/10.17586/1023-5086-2022-89-03-03-04

Vladimir Yurievich Venediktov
St. Petersburg State Electrotechnical University, V. I. Ul’yanov (Lenin) LETI, Russia

In 2022, mankind celebrates the 75th anniversary of the discovery of holography by Dennis Gabor. Despite its very solid growth, holography as a science is continuing to be actively developed. At the same time, many branches of optical industry and a number of other fields are unthinkable today without the use of already developed and newly created holographic technologies. Various holographic elements are used in many modern imaging and spectral devices. Holographic recording of diffraction gratings has essentially superseded other methods of creating gratings.
New methods of digital and computer holography are being actively developed and are being applied in holographic information storage, in data compression, and in holographic interferometry, as well as in technologies for the copy-protection of information and to protect consumers from counterfeits.
It should be pointed out that, as always, Russian scientists are some of the leaders in the regions of science and technology enumerated above. Completely new ideas and technologies have also appeared, in particular, technologies for measuring a wave front by means of holographic sensors. Great progress has been made in recent years in the creation of augmented-reality systems and holographic optical sights, both dedicated and general purpose.
One more interesting trend that has been noted in recent years (and unfortunately not yet adequately developed in Russia) is to return to Gabor’s ideas that appeared way back in the pre-laser epoch, namely, to develop methods of low-coherence holography and, in particular, low-coherence microscopy.
This special issue, devoted to various aspects of modern holography and applied optical technologies, is offered to the attention of the readers of the Journal of Optical Technology (Opticheskii Zhurnal). These areas include the following most critical specializations of optical holography.
The area of protective holography includes methods of working with photopolymeric materials for optical personalization by means of computer-synthesized holograms under conditions of mass production of full-color and three-dimensional color images.

The area of the creation of diffraction and holographic optical elements includes the task of increasing the diffraction efficiency under conditions of improved productivity. Crucial studies of three-dimensional diffraction gratings are needed for a wide class of problems from the implementation of tunable laser systems to waveguides for augmented-reality devices.
Methods of digital holography are needed for the development of optical replication of information, holographic formation of three-dimensional images, and the creation of optical traps and other photonic devices.
Other areas include the monitoring of the quality of optical surfaces in the optics industry. Interferometers need to be introduced into the State Register of Measuring Equipment in order to solve this problem. Technological breakthroughs are required in the implementation of noncontact monitoring of an optical surface.
These topics are presented in the articles published here.

Vladimir Yurievich Venediktov—graduated from the Physics Department of A. A. Zhdanov Leningrad State University in 1982. From 1982 to 2015 he worked at S. I. Vavilov State Optical Institute, where he advanced from research assistant to head of the laboratory of adaptive optics. He received the degree of Candidate of Sciences (Physics and Mathematics) with a specialty in Optics in 2003. He received the academic rank of Associated Professor in the same specialty in 2006 and defended his dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Sciences (Physics and Mathematics) in 2012, also with the specialty of Optics. He has worked at SPbETU “LETI” since 2006 and currently holds the position of Chief Research Scientist and Professor in the Department of Laser Measurement and Navigation Systems. He is also a professor in the Physics Department of St. Petersburg State University.
He is a leading Russian specialist in the area of holography, adaptive and singular optics, optical cavities, and also optical interferometry and gyroscopy. He has published more than 200 scientific and educational works, including more than 70 articles in leading refereed journals. He is an author of 4 joint monographs and has 12 inventor’s certificates of the USSR and patents of the Russian Federation.