A Portable Compact System for Laser Speckle Correlation Imaging of Artworks Using Projected Speckle Pattern

Artworks have a layered structure subjected to alterations caused by various factors. The monitoring of defects at sub-millimeter scale may be performed by laser interferometric techniques. The aim of this work was to develop a compact system to perform laser speckle imaging in situ for effective mapping of subsurface defects in paintings. The device was designed to be versatile with the possibility of optimizing the performance by easy parameters adjustment. The system exploits a laser speckle pattern generated through an optical diffuser and projected onto the artworks and image correlation techniques for the analysis of the speckle intensity pattern. A protocol for the optimal measurement was suggested, based on calibration curves for tuning the mean speckle size in the acquired intensity pattern. The system was validated in the analysis of detachments in an ancient painting model using a short pulse thermal stimulus to induce a surface deformation field and standard decorrelation algorithms for speckle pattern matching. The device is equipped with a compact thermal camera for preventing any overheating effects during the phase of the stimulus. The developed system represents a valuable nondestructive tool for artwork diagnostics, allowing the monitoring of subsurface defects in paintings in out-of-laboratory environment.