Phase extraction from two phase-shifting fringe patterns using spatial-temporal fringes method.

Phase extraction from phase-shifting fringe patterns with unknown phase shift values is a valuable but challenging task, especially when there are only two frames of fringes. In this paper, a phase demodulation method based on the spatial-temporal fringes (STF) method is proposed, where two phase shift fringes with linear carrier are fused into one STF image, and then the measured phase can be extracted from its frequency spectrum. The algorithm is deduced by extending the traditional STF theory with at least three frames of fringes to the two frames case. In the simulations, its performance is compared with the classical Fourier Transform method, and the different carrier and phase step conditions are analyzed where the accuracy can be ensured in most cases. The algorithm is also validated by the experiment, where the reliable result can be given even if the phase shift changes within a wide range.