A method for discriminating an in-focus image of an information-bearing region within an optical memory medium from an out-of-focus image so as to reduce errors in reading information represented by the information-bearing region within the optical memory medium, comprising the steps of:
- (a) producing a probe beam and a reference beam from a wideband point source;
- (b) producing antisymmetric spatial properties in the reference beam;
- (c) converting the probe beam to a beam focused to a line in the information-bearing region;
- (d) producing an in-focus return probe beam;
- (e) producing antisymmetric spatial properties in the in-focus return probe beam;
- (f) spatially filtering the in-focus return probe beam;
- (g) passing the spatially filtered in-focus return probe beam through a dispersal element to convert it to a beam focused to a line in a detector plane of a detector;
- (h) spatially filtering the reference beam;
- (i) passing the spatially filtered reference beam through a dispersal element to convert it to a beam focused to the line in the detector plane;
- (j) spatially filtering a beam from an out-of focus image point;
- (k) passing the spatially filtered beam from the out-of-focus image point through a dispersal element;
- (l) interfering the spatially filtered reference beam with the spatially filtered beam from the out-of-focus image point;
- (m) interfering the spatially filtered reference beam with the spatially filtered in-focus return probe beam;
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- (n) detecting (1) the spatially filtered reference beam as a nonlinear function of an amplitude of the spatially filtered reference beam, and (2) the spatially filtered in-focus return probe beam as an interference term between the spatially filtered reference beam and the spatially filtered in-focus return probe beam by means of the detector, an amplitude of an interference term between an amplitude of the spatially filtered out-of-focus image beam and an amplitude of the spatially filtered reference beam being substantially reduced, to reduce errors in data produced by the detector to represent the information being read.