Numerical study of the effects of scatterer sizes and distributions on multiple backscattered intensity patterns of polarized light

• Published in: Optics letters 2008, Vol.33 (1), p.77-79
• Main Authors: Deng, Yong, Zeng, Shaoqun, Luo, Qingming, Zhang, Zhihong, Fu, Ling
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Algorithms; Computer Simulation; Diffraction and scattering; Exact sciences and technology; Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications); Image Enhancement - methods; Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted - methods; Light; Microscopy, Polarization - methods; Models, Biological; Numerical Analysis, Computer-Assisted; Optics; Physics; Polarization; Refractometry - methods; Reproducibility of Results; Scattering, Radiation; Sensitivity and Specificity; Wave optics; Wave propagation in random media
• ISSN: 0146-9592; 1539-4794
• DOI: 10.1364/OL.33.000077

We investigate numerically the effects of scatterer sizes on backscattered polarization patterns using the third-order scattering model developed. The calculated results show that both parallel and cross polarization patterns from water suspensions of polystyrene spheres have four-lobe structures of the azimuth dependence of intensities. Particularly, the parallel polarization pattern is sensitive to scatterer sizes, exhibiting good agreement with prior experimental measurements. Furthermore, the polarization patterns from the dysplastic and normal cells with different size distribution widths are calculated and analyzed. The results show that the polarization patterns of dysplastic and normal cells have distinct differences, which might be used for identification of the morphological structure changes of cancer, dysplasia, and regeneration cells.