Diffraction patterns for a transmission volume hologram under Bragg mismatch

We have presented simulations and experiments for 2-dimensional diffraction distributions of a transmission volume hologram. We sample the input pattern with a few elementary points and calculate the diffraction of the corresponding elementary grating. The simulations can describe well the diffraction pattern obtained in the experiment and can be used to predict the tolerance for angular deviation of the reading beam. The tolerance for angular deviation depends on its direction. It is affected by the Bragg degeneracy. The simulation results provide a clear picture of the spatial tolerance for reading a transmission volume hologram.