Patent ID: 7456976

Claim:
A method, comprising: a) recording n interferograms of an object, wherein the n interferograms are recorded by changing the phase difference between an object beam of wavelength λ k and a reference beam of wavelength λ k by approximate phase differences ∂(φ) i where i is an integer between 1 and (n-1); b) choosing a first plurality of pixels, wherein each pixel intensity measurement or count is greater than a noise floor and less than a saturation value for each of the n interferograms, and wherein each pixel intensity measurement for each of the n interferograms has a variation of more than a defined number of counts; and c) adjusting the values ∂(φ) i until a statistical measure of intensities recorded for the n interferograms for the plurality of pixels satisfies a criterion, wherein the statistical measurement comprises the steps of: determining Fourier transforms for a first plurality of pixels from the n interferograms of the object; and calculating the average of a ratio of peak heights to sidelobe heights of the Fourier Transforms.