One-shot self-calibrating phase-shifting interferometry by direct normalization of interferograms

Abstract

Dynamic phase measurement is a valuable technique applied across various scientific and technological domains due to its high accuracy, non-contacting method, and numerous practical applications. In this manuscript, we present a phase retrieval method capable of measuring the object’s phase in real-time. Our proposal is based on a double aperture common-path interferometer adapted for polarization modulation in the input windows, enabling the superposition of two fields with orthogonal circular polarizations. Two interferograms and two intensities are captured in a single shot, showcasing the possibility of obtaining two normalized interferograms directly and straightforwardly. This allows for the derivation of expressions for phase recovery and, additionally, the determination of the arbitrary phase step. We demonstrate that this method is easy to implement, highly accurate, and sufficiently fast for real-time applications. To validate the effectiveness of the method, we conduct numerical error analysis and laboratory experiments.