Precision of evaluation methods in white light interferometry. Correlogram correlation method

Abstract In this letter we suggest a method for the evaluation of a surface’s topography which we call the correlogram correlation method. Employing a theoretical analysis as well as numerical simulations the method is proven to be the most accurate among available evaluation algorithms in the common case of uncorrelated noise. We obtain variance estimations for conventional methods and compare them to simulations. Experimental examples illustrate the superiority of the correlogram correlation method over the common envelope and phase methods.