Phase Unwrapping Algorithms: A Comparison

Abstract

Over the last few years a great deal of work has been done to improvethe reliability of phase unwrapping algorithms. Many articles areto be found in the technical literature claiming the robustness andnoise immunity of the proposed algorithm. Examination of the latestpublished works reveals that the authors have adopted completelydifferent approaches, with the result that the algorithms are notreadily comparable. Moreover the computational effort involved ineach solution method varies largely. Here the authors attempt a rigorousanalysis of some of the most widely used algorithms. Their performancein solving "standard" tests at various noise levels are comparedwith the exact solution; the solution time is also considered. Asimple "recipes table" is then proposed binding image quality andunwrapping algorithm.