Phase-shifting interferometry using a two-dimensional regularized phase-tracking technique

Phase-shifting interferometry is the most used method whenever the optical stability of the interferometer remain high when several phase-shifted interferograms are taken. In this work we present a two-dimensional regularized phase-tracking (RPT) technique applied to demodulate multiple phase-shifted interferograms. The main advantage of this technique with reference to classical phase-shifting interferometry is its higher signal-to-noise rejection as well as a higher signal's harmonics rejection. In the RPT technique the unwrapping process is implicit; so it is achieved simultaneously with the phase estimation process; then, no additional unwrapping process is required.