Phase-shift extraction algorithm for blind phase-shifting holography based on the quotient of inner products

This paper presents a phase-shift extraction method for blind phase-shifting holography applications based on the quotient of inner products. The method only requires acquiring three-frame holograms with arbitrary unequal phase-shift values and the intensity of the reference wave, without requiring the object wave intensity. Two phase shift values can be extracted precisely using the algorithm, which can remove the background noise and DC component effects. Both simulated and experimental results have demonstrated the phase step retrieval accuracy and the feasibility of reconstructing the complex amplitude of the object wave.