Two-dimensional windowed Fourier transform for fringe pattern analysis: Principles, applications and implementations

Fringe patterns from optical metrology systems need to be demodulated to get the desired parameters. Two-dimensional windowed Fourier transform is chosen for the determination of phase and phase derivatives. Two algorithms, one based on filtering and the other based on similarity measure, are developed. Some applications based on these two algorithms are explored, including strain determination, phase unwrapping, phase-shifter calibration, fault detection, edge detection and fringe segmentation. Various examples are given to demonstrate the ideas. Finally implementations of these algorithms are addressed. Most of the work has appeared in various papers and its originality is not claimed. Instead, this paper gives an overview and more insights of our work on windowed Fourier transform.     

Applications of windowed Fourier fringe analysis in optical measurement: A review

The applications of windowed Fourier fringe analysis in the past decade are reviewed. Because fringe patterns from different optical measurement systems are similar, the reviewed applications are classified according to the functions of the windowed Fourier transform being used in fringe pattern analysis: denosing exponential phase fields, demodulating carrier fringe patterns, getting phase derivatives, and utilizing local properties. From these applications, the windowed Fourier transform is shown to be effective and versatile for fringe pattern analysis.     

On window size selection in the windowed Fourier ridges algorithm

The windowed Fourier ridges (WFR) algorithm can be used to extract the frequency and phase information from an exponential or carrier fringe pattern. The selection of the window size for this algorithm is investigated in this paper. For exponential phase fringe patterns, the window size does not need to be adjusted according to the signal frequency. Hence the scaling strategy of the wavelet transform is not necessary. Instead, the window size should be selected according to the balance between the linear phase approximation error and the noise level. For carrier fringe patterns, the influence of the conjugate component should also be considered. However it can be ignored when the lowest frequency of the fringe pattern is higher than 1.5/σ (σ is used to represent the window size).     

A simple phase unwrapping approach based on filtering by windowed Fourier transform

Phase unwrapping is an interesting yet challenging problem in optical interferometry. In this paper, we limit our interest to unwrapping noisy phase maps as it is a common but difficult task. Our aim is to propose a simple solution to phase unwrapping. We first remove the noise by a novel windowed Fourier transform approach and then use sequential line scanning method for phase unwrapping. This simple approach is verified to be very effective.     

A simple phase unwrapping approach based on filtering by windowed Fourier transform: The phase near edges

A simple phase unwrapping approach based on windowed Fourier filtering (WFF) was proposed recently. In this paper, the effects of the WFF on edges are further investigated, which show that the phase near an edge remains unchanged and no special consideration is needed for the edges. This useful property will be theoretically proven and numerically verified.     

A simple phase unwrapping approach based on filtering by windowed Fourier transform: A note on the threshold selection

A simple phase unwrapping approach based on windowed Fourier filtering was proposed recently [K. Qian et al. A simple phase unwrapping approach based on filtering by windowed Fourier transform. Opt Laser Technol 2005;37:458–62]. The windowed Fourier filtering algorithm is an essential ingredient that suppresses the noise effectively and makes the phase unwrapping trivial. This paper adds a note on the threshold selection in the windowed Fourier filtering algorithm. A large interval can be selected as the threshold to obtain almost optimal filtering results. Once the selected threshold is suitable, it is almost optimal. This makes the threshold selection in the windowed Fourier filtering algorithm extremely easy.     

On window size selection in the windowed Fourier ridges algorithm: Addendum

The windowed Fourier transform is a useful technique for fringe pattern analysis. It has been shown that the proper selection of the window size is a balance between the linear phase approximation error and the influence of noise [Q. Kemao, On widow size selection in windowed Fourier ridges algorithm. Opt Lasers Eng, 2007, accepted for publication]. Since the fringe intensity and noise level usually vary spatially, the window size should also be spatially adaptive in order to reach a good balance for each pixel of the fringe pattern. This addendum first shows that the windowed Fourier transform with a spatially fixed window size (SFWS) is still practically useful and then discusses the window size competition strategies for the windowed Fourier transform with a spatially adaptive window size (SAWS). The windowed Fourier transform with a SAWS is theoretically better than that with a SFWS but it is also more challenging in use. The windowed Fourier ridges algorithm is used for analysis throughout this paper. This analysis is also applicable to the windowed Fourier filtering algorithm.     

Method for eliminating zero spectrum in Fourier transform profilometry

Windowed Fourier transform (FT) is introduced into Fourier transform profilometry (FTP) to extract zero component included in deformed fringe pattern without capturing two fringe patterns with π phase difference. First, we extract zero component of deformed fringe image using windowed FT and normalize it, then calculate the normalized Fourier spectra of deformed fringe image, finally subtract the zero component from Fourier spectra of deformed fringe image. We give the theoretical analysis of the proposed method. The experiment is carried out to demonstrate that the method can eliminate zero component and extend the measurable slope of height variation to nearly three times of the conventional FTP.     

S变换引导的窗口傅里叶变换相位提取

提出了一种基于S变换引导的自适应窗口傅里叶变换相位提取方法.通过连续S变换,得到局部条纹的最佳变换窗口,可以保证窗口尺寸随变形条纹的频率变化而自动调整,适合复杂物体的面形测量.计算机模拟和实验验证表明,该方法克服了传统窗口傅里叶变换窗口大小固定的缺点,相位提取的误差由-2～8rad降低为-1～1rad,而且还可以得到被...     

Windowed Fourier assisted two-dimensional Hilbert transform for fringes phase extraction

In this article, two-dimensional windowed Fourier assisted Hilbert transform for fringes phase extraction has been proposed. The mathematical derivations of the filtered fringes image and its Hilbert transformations are presented using windowed Fourier transform. The proposed method has been verified by calculating the wrapped and unwrapped phase of the experimental moire fringes. In comparison to the conventional fringes phase extraction methods, the proposed method is found to be effective.     

Two-dimensional multiscale windowed Fourier transform based on two-dimensional wavelet transform for fringe pattern demodulation

A two-dimensional multiscale windowed Fourier transform (2D-MWFT), based on two-dimensional Gabor wavelet transform (2D-GWT), for the phase extraction from a spatial fringe pattern in fringe projection profilometry is presented. First, the instantaneous frequencies on x and y direction of the modulated fringe pattern are determined by 2D-GWT, and then the local stationary lengths are obtained. The 2D-MWFT with different two-dimensional Gaussian windows whose width is set according to the local stationary length is preformed for each section of the modulated fringe pattern to achieve multiresolution analysis and phase demodulation. Comparing the result of the phase demodulated by 2D-GWT and two-dimensional windowed Fourier transform (2D-WFT) with that by 2D-MWFT in a numerical simulation, we show that the 2D-MWFT method is superior to these methods, especially for the local non-stationary signal with low frequency. The theory and the results of a simulation and experiment are shown.     

窗口傅里叶变换轮廓术中窗口尺度选取的改进

多尺度窗口傅里叶变换法根据条纹信号的瞬时频率梯度来确定信号的局域平稳长度,再由局域平稳长度来控制窗口的尺度,即窗口的尺度和局域平稳长度成正比。使用多尺度窗口傅里叶变换法来使条纹信号的频谱局域化,可以在条纹信号的频率分辨率和空间分辨率之间达到一种较佳的调和。针对多尺度窗口傅里叶变换三维形貌测量技术中局域平稳长度提取算法的不足进行了改进,使窗口尺度的选取更具合理性,对变形光栅基频提取更精确,进一步减小了位相测量的误差。给出了理论分析、计算机模拟以及实验结果。     

A two-dimensional fast Fourier transform method for measuring the inclination angle of parallel fringe patterns

In this paper we describe a technique based on two-dimensional fast Fourier fringe pattern analysis for the automated evaluation of the inclination angle of parallel fringe patterns. Analysis of noise-free theoretical parallel fringe patterns is presented and numerical results of the angle evaluation error using this algorithm are discussed. We also demonstrate an application of the method to the measurement of the inclination angle of experimental parallel fringe patterns.     

Characterizing Young's fringes’ orientation and spacing by Fourier transform and Radon transform

Orientation and spacing are important features of fringe patterns, especially in speckle photography when the displacement information of the object is determined by pointwisely filtering the double-exposure specklegram. The Fourier transform and Radon transform are both simple and effective tools for solving this problem, which extract the information in spectral domain and spatial domain, respectively. A hybrid method combining Radon transform and Fourier transform is also possible. The results can be further improved by enhanced Fourier transform and enhanced Radon transform. The theories, as well as real applications, are given in this paper.     

A derivative based simplified phase tracker for a single fringe pattern demodulation

In this paper, a novel fringe demodulation method for the estimation of phase and its first-order derivative from a closed-fringe interferogram is proposed. The proposed method determines the phase derivatives in both x&y directions from fringe orientation and density. The phase derivatives are subsequently used to determine phase values using a novel simplified phase tracker. In the phase tracking model, the complexity of the cost function is reduced using predetermined derivatives so computation time required for phase tracking is reduced considerably. The proposed model is more robust while dealing with saddle points in fringes than the conventional phase tracker model. Hence it does not require any specialized scanning strategy. The proposed method is validated with simulated and experimental fringe patterns (obtained using electronic speckle pattern interferometry and optical holographic interferometry) and a comparison study is carried out with conventional regularized phase tracker. The simulation results show that the proposed method has good accuracy and requires less computation time than existing phase-tracking algorithms. The experimental results demonstrate the robustness of the proposed method against speckle noise and its practical applicability for static and dynamic applications.     

Fast full-field out-of-plane deformation measurement using fringe reflectometry

Full-field out-of-plane deformation measurement of specular surfaces can be implemented quickly and conveniently using fringe reflectometry. The system configuration is simple and processing is fast. With the assistance of an advanced fringe pattern processing technique, the windowed Fourier ridges method, only a single two-directional fringe pattern is necessary for determination of the deformed surface profile. Thus, the whole measurement only requires a single image with the potential for high speed or even real time measurement.     

Generalized three-dimensional windowed Fourier transform for fringe analysis

A 3D windowed Fourier transform is proposed for fringe sequence analysis, which processes the joint spatial and temporal information of the fringe sequence simultaneously. The 2D windowed Fourier transform in the spatial domain and the 1D windowed Fourier transform in the temporal domain are two special cases of the proposed method. The principles of windowed Fourier filtering and windowed Fourier ridges are developed. Experimental verification shows encouraging results despite a longer processing time.     

傅立叶变换用于全息三维物体面形测量

介绍了将傅立叶变换用于全息三维面形测量的基本原理和实验装置。首先用全息干涉条纹替代投影条纹投影到待测物体上 ,在相位解调中 ,结合Gerchberg迭代算法对变形条纹进行处理 ,然后用汉宁窗口进行数字加权滤波。结果表明 ,该测量系统实验装置简单 ,测量精度高 ,速度快 ,适用于复杂大物体三维面形测量