On the performance of some unwrapping algorithms

This work attempts an objective comparison in terms of performance and execution speed of some of the best known phase unwrapping algorithms. First the algorithms chosen, grouped into 4 classes (sequential methods, residues methods, global least square integration methods, others) are described. Then the influence of the weighting function on each of them is investigated. So as to obtain quantitative results it is necessary to use synthetic images, so that the exact solution is known, the technique for generating these images is also illustrated. Lastly, the algorithms performance in terms of influence of the weight functions, robustness and execution time are discussed. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.