Single and Multicomponent Digital Optical Signal Analysis : Estimation of Phase and Its Derivatives

Optical techniques such as electronic speckle pattern interferometry, holographic interferometry, and fringe projection have emerged as the prominent tools for non-contact measurements, with applications ranging from biology to materials science. In these processes, information about the measured physical quantity is stored in the phase or associated derivatives of an interference fringe pattern. Consequently, a reliable estimation of phase and its derivatives, commonly referred to as fringe analysis becomes a primary requirement for the application and interpretation of these optical techniques. Here, leading researchers in fringe analysis methods present a review of the tools and methods of multicomponent fringe analysis and interferometric data, and outline a wide range of digital signal-processing-based interferometric data-processing techniques.