Single-phase-step method with contoured correlation fringe patterns for ESPI

Speckle fringe patterns of electronic speckle pattern interferometry (ESPI) are full of high-level speckle noise and are mainly processed by phase-shifting methods that normally require three speckle fringe patterns or more. The author proposes a novel method, the contoured correlation-fringe-pattern (CCFP) method, by which speckle-noise-free fringe patterns can be generated for ESPI. The application of this novel method is extended to the phase-shifting or phase-stepping for ESPI after its improvement. It generates speckle-noise-free phase fringes and remains valid for single phase-step condition, thus eliminates the two main disadvantages of the phase-shifting (stepping) methods of ESPI.