Lockin-ESPI interferometric imaging for remote non-destructive testing

Electronic-speckle-pattern-interferometry (ESPI) is a sensitive interferometric imaging technique that responds to changes of surface topography caused, e.g., by pressure changes or by thermal expansion. Hidden defects are revealed by the inhomogeneity of such deformation fields. Unfortunately, field distortion may also be caused by, e.g., inhomogeneous excitation. Therefore the lockin technique has been transfered to ESPI in order to enhance its sensitivity by this kind of phase-sensitive narrow-band filtering where finally a self-normalised phase-angle image is obtained. Such an image displays features which are usually deeply hidden in noise, as will be shown on various examples.