Signal processing scheme for central position identification in a white-light interferometric system with a dual wavelength source

A signal processing scheme using a curve fitting algorithm to determine the central position of the digitized fringe pattern output of a white light interferometric (WLI) system is discussed. An analytic result for the resolution obtained in the central fringe position measurement using a specific curve fitting scheme has been given and a simulation of the measurement of the central position of a computer generated fringe pattern has been carried out. The results from the simulation show good agreement with those from the theoretical analysis. A supporting experiment to investigate this effect has also been carried out and the short term repeatability of the central position measurement using the curve fitting scheme gives close agreement with the theoretical results.