High-fidelity full-color self-interference incoherent digital holography via quarter-wave geometric phase optics
Self-interference incoherent digital holography (SIDH) enables three-dimensional imaging under broadband illumination without a reference arm, but conventional implementations using half-waveplate (HWP)-based geometric phase (GP) lenses suffer from triple-wavefront polarization interference. This interference arises from chromatic dispersion in phase retardation, producing color-dependent artifacts that degrade full-color reconstruction fidelity. We introduce a quarter-waveplate (QWP)-based GP lens architecture that suppresses the parasitic third wavefront by exploiting the non-diffracted beam as the reference, yielding stable dual-wavefront modulation. The resulting phase-encoded polarization interference patterns remain spectrally consistent across red, green, and blue channels. Experimental validation demonstrates substantial noise suppression and improved full-color image fidelity, quantified through channel-specific noise analysis and structural similarity metrics. The system retains a simplified optical configuration without active polarization control, supporting compact integration and cost-effective fabrication. These results establish the QWP-GP SIDH architecture as a viable route for portable, real-time digital holographic 3D imaging, with potential scalability in augmented reality, optical diagnostics, and spectral holography.