Use of a joint transform correlator architecture for study of speckle displacements

Abstract The optical speckle–displacement correlation technique (OSDCT) is proposed for study of in-plane speckle displacements. The joint transform correlator architecture is used to evaluate the displacements of speckle subimages of strained surfaces. The procedure of the correlation response producing as a result of cross-correlation of strainless and strained surfaces in a conventional joint transform correlator (JTC) is considered. The convenient techniques for a joint power spectrum transformation are selected. The systematic and random errors of a mean speckle pattern displacement of a rigid body motion calculated by using the OSDCT and the digital speckle–displacement measurement technique are compared. The robustness of some JTC versions (a conventional JTC, a JTC with median thresholding, a JTC with subset median thresholding, and a fringe adjusted filter JTC) to input noise of speckle patterns and output noise of a correlation response is studied.