A novel algorithm for branch cut phase unwrapping

Branch cut method is a powerful noise-immune algorithm for correct phase unwrapping of noisy phase maps. The shortest branch cut length promises the optimal unwrapping result of the wrapped phase maps. A new algorithm is proposed to search for the shortest branch cut length by simple exchange operation. Although the algorithm is on the basis of stochastic search techniques, it has a high probability of finding the shortest branch cut length or an approximation of it. Compared with the traditional algorithms, the algorithm is fast and competitive. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.