Automatic phase stepping in fiber-optic ESPI by closed-loop gain switching

In this paper, we describe a new technique for automatic phase stepping in fiber-optic Electronic Speckle Pattern Interferometry (ESPI), useful in both single-point and imaging configurations. The proposed technique is based on closed-loop switching of the gain sign in the control loop used to stabilize the reference wavefront phase, with the aid of a Proportional-Integral (P.I.) controller. Simulation and experimental results are compared, showing that by a synchronization signal or by a proper choice of the feedback loop parameters, a sequence of π/2 steps of the reference wavefront phase, all of the same sign, is obtained, The residual fluctuation of each phase step amounts to ±2.5 mr over a bandwidth of 200 Hz. This level of phase stability is well suited for ESPI applications