Spatial phase shifting in electronic speckle pattern interferometry: Minimization of phase reconstruction errors

The advantages of spatial phase shifting (SPS) compared with temporal phase shifting in the field of electronic speckle pattern interferometry are described. Some periodic phase reconstruction errors occurring in SPS are discussed. It is shown that these errors become minimal for a spatial phase-shift angle of 2 pi/3. Furthermore, a modified phase reconstruction formula is presented by which the noise in the reconstructed phase map is reduced. (C) 1997 Optical Society of America.