Coherence radar: an accurate 3D sensor for rough surfaces

Gerd Haeusler; Jochen Neumann

doi:10.1117/12.141943

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23 March 1993 Coherence radar: an accurate 3D sensor for rough surfaces

Gerd Haeusler, Jochen Neumann

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Proceedings Volume 1822, Optics, Illumination, and Image Sensing for Machine Vision VII; (1993) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.141943
Event: Applications in Optical Science and Engineering, 1992, Boston, MA, United States

Abstract

We introduce a 3-D sensor with extraordinary features. It supplies an accuracy which is only limited by the roughness of the object surface. This differs from other coherent sensors, where the depth accuracy is limited by the aperture of observation, when they are looking onto optically rough surfaces. As a consequence, our sensor supplies high accuracy, even with small aperture (we can look into narrow holes). The sensor supplies high distance accuracy at volume scatterers as well. The sensor is based essentially on a Michelson interferometer, with the rough object surface serving as one 'mirror'. This is possible because instead of the phase of the interferogram, only the occurrence of interference is detected, via small coherence of the source. We call the method 'coherence radar'.

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Gerd Haeusler and Jochen Neumann "Coherence radar: an accurate 3D sensor for rough surfaces", Proc. SPIE 1822, Optics, Illumination, and Image Sensing for Machine Vision VII, (23 March 1993); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.141943

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