Title: Piston sensing via a dispersed fringe sensor with a merit-function-based active scanning algorithm at low light levels 

Author(s): Zhang, YF (Zhang, Yongfeng); Xian, H (Xian, Hao) 

Source: CHINESE OPTICS LETTERS  Volume: 17  Issue: 12  Article Number: 121101  DOI: 10.3788/COL201917.121101  Published: DEC 10 2019   

Abstract: Dispersed fringe sensors are a promising approach for sensing the large-scale physical step between adjacent segments with acceptable accuracy. However, the nature of dispersion in a dispersed fringe sensor leads to the ideal dispersed fringe pattern becoming vulnerable to noise, particularly at low light levels. A reliable merit-function-based algorithm with an active actuation is introduced here. The feasibility of our algorithm is numerically demonstrated, and Monte Carlo experiments for different signal-to-noise ratios are conducted to assess its robustness. The results show that the method is valid even when the signal-to-noise ratio is as low as 1. 

ISSN: 1671-7694