Temporal phase evaluation by Fourier analysis of fringe patterns with spatial carrier

Abstract

A new method is presented for the temporal evaluation of fringe patterns with spatial carrier. The proposed technique involves recording the irradiance fluctuations obtained when a linear variation of the set-up sensitivity is introduced. In this condition, the use of a spatial carrier introduces a linear temporal carrier frequency. In this way, Fourier analysis can be performed to obtain the phase and, finally, the quantity to be measured. The optimum conditions for the sensitivity variation have been studied in order to minimize the errors associated with the Fourier analysis. The technique has been applied to measure the distribution of ray deflections on the surface of two ophthalmic lenses using a deflectometric set-up.