Phase retrieval from a single fringe pattern by using empirical wavelet transform

Phase retrieval from a single fringe pattern is one of the key tasks in optical metrology. In this paper, we present a new method for phase retrieval from a single fringe pattern based on empirical wavelet transform. In the proposed method, a fringe pattern can be effectively divided into three components: nonuniform background, fringes and random noise, which are described in different sub-pass. So the phase distribution information can be robustly extracted from fringes representing a fundamental frequency component. In simulation and a practical projection fringes test, the performance of the present method is successfully verified by comparing with the conventional wavelet transform method in terms of both image quality and phase estimation errors. (paper)