Comparative analysis on some filters for wrapped phase maps

Some effective filtering methods for wrapped phase maps, a regularized phase-tracking method (RPT) without the regularization term, a multiple-parameter least-square method (MPLS), a windowed Fourier ridges method (WFR), an autocorrelation function method (ACF), and a sine/cosine average filter (SCAF), are analyzed in order to establish their transversal relationship. The analysis shows that principles of the RPT, MPLS, WFR, and ACF are equivalent and the SCAF also leads to the WFR by some extension, which elegantly unifies all these methods for filtering unwrapped phase maps. (c) 2007 Optical Society of America