Abstract

We consider imaging a deterministic object situated in the far-field of a random screen. When the object is illuminated and viewed through the same random screen, the long-exposure average intensity spectrum is shown to contain diffraction-limited information on the object Fourier modulus. This occurs because a certain fraction of the light propagating to the object and back is in phase and always gives rise to constructive interference in the image plane. The effect is physically closely related to the backscatter enhancement of light scattered by dense random media or rough surfaces.

© 1990 Optical Society of America