System and method for automated fringe counting using image information

A system for determining the movement of fringes and nodes of an interference pattern through at least one sampling region, comprising:

• a first module that displays at least one curve representing the movement of fringes and nodes of the interference through the at least one sampling region;
• a second module that analyzes at least one characteristic of said curve and displays to a user a result of said analysis;
• and
• a third module that allows a user to interactively change said result.

A method of determining the movement of fringes and/or nodes of an interference pattern, comprising the steps of:

• capturing an image of the interference pattern;
• displaying said image on a display device;
• and
• interactively selecting at least one sampling region from said image displayed on said display device.

A method of determining the movement of fringes and nodes of an interference pattern through at least one sampling region, comprising the steps of:

• displaying at least one curve representing the movement of fringes and nodes of the interference pattern through the at least one sampling region;
• analyzing the at least one characteristic of said curve;
• displaying to a user a result of said analysis;
• and
• allowing a user to interactively change said result.

A bulge testing system for testing a thin film window, comprising:

• an interferometer for providing an interference pattern;
• an image detector for detecting an image of said interference pattern;
• a display device in communication with said image detector for displaying said image of the interference pattern;
• and
• a user interface for allowing a user to interactively select at least one sampling region from said image displayed on said display device.

A bulge testing system for testing a thin film window, comprising:

• an interferometer for providing an interference pattern having fringes and nodes;
• a detector for detecting the movement of said fringes and said nodes at a sampling region;
• a display device in communication with said detector for displaying a curve representing the passage of said fringes and said nodes through said sampling region;
• and
• a user interface for analyzing at least one characteristic of said curve and displaying a result of said analysis on said display device;
• and
• a module for allowing a user to interactively change said result.

A system of determining the movement of fringes and/or nodes of an interference pattern displayed on a display device, comprising:

• a first means for capturing an image of the interference pattern;
• a second means for displaying said image on the display device;
• and
• a third means for interactively selecting at least one sampling region from said image displayed on the display device.

A computer readable medium containing a method executed on a computer for determining the movement of fringes and/or nodes of an interference pattern displayed on a display device, the method comprising the steps of:

• capturing an image of the interference pattern;
• displaying said image on the display device;
• and
• allowing a user to interactively select at least one sampling region from said image displayed on the display device.