Phase-tilt iteration: Accurate and robust phase extraction from random tilt-shift interferograms

Abstract An advanced phase-tilt iteration method is proposed for accurate and robust phase extraction from the interferograms with random tilt shift. The method constructs a system of linear equations about the tilt parameters via the spatial vector transform-based decoupling, and then establishes a least-squares alternate optimization. Using the two steps of initial estimation and fine iteration in the orthogonal one-dimensional interference intensity, the phase distribution is extracted with high accuracy and robustness. The simulations and experiments verify the high performance of the proposed method. It is promised to provide a high-accuracy and low-cost solution for temporal phase-shifting interferometers in the vibrating environment without modifying the optical hardware.