An approach to digital processing of interference patterns to enhance their informative value

The reasons leading to the appearance of noise on the recorded interference patterns, which complicate the effectiveness of their analysis by the operator, are analyzed. Methods and algorithms have been studied to increase the informative value of interference patterns by increasing their contrast and removing the noise component. The main requirements for a specialized algorithm designed to be integrated into an optical camera driver of an interferometer are defined. A white balance method has been developed to correct the brightness histogram for each color in interference patterns. Criteria for choosing optimal coefficients of image brightness decomposition, regulating its brightness and contrast, are proposed. A comparison of the speed of the developed algorithm with other most effective algorithms for processing such images is presented. The values of the average and median signal-to-noise ratio, as well as its variance, are determined for all the algorithms considered. The contrast of interference patterns obtained after applying all the considered algorithms is analyzed. The effect of heating the matrix of an interferometer video camera on the signal-to-noise ratio when using the developed algorithm is studied. The ways of further modification of the algorithm in order to speed up its operation are proposed.