Error compensation algorithm and performance evaluation for phase-shifting interferometer

Phase retrieval algorithms with a small number of grabbed buckets are very helpful to the phase-shifting interferometer (PSI) required real-time processing, so the algorithms within five buckets are very practical and are given more attention. In the paper, new 4 and 5-bucket algorithms are developed to compensate phase-shift deviation and detector nonlinearity. Numerical simulations and experiments performed on a Mach-Zehnder interferometer are carried out and verify that these two compensation algorithms hold a high degree of tolerance for two dominate error sources.