Computer aided evaluation of fringe patterns

The crucial step in computer aided evaluation of interferometric fringe patterns is the determination of the interference phase distribution from the recorded and stored intensity pattern. Methods for determination of the interference phase distributions from fringe patterns are presented and the most important methods, which are skeletonising, temporary heterodyning, phase shifting and Fourier transform evaluation are compared with regard to experimental requirements, achievable resolution and precision, as well as inherent noise suppression and image enhancement. The comparison shows that whenever phase shifting is possible, it is the best choice. If only one interference pattern is offered, Fourier transform evaluation is recommendable. For demodulation of the wrapped phase a path-independent algorithm is presented. Practical examples are given from holographic interferometric measurements.