Backscattering target detection in a turbid medium by polarization discrimination

We describe a method for increasing target contrast within a turbid medium by means of the polarization state of the scattered light. The backscattered Mueller matrices for various concentrations of 0.1-microm spherical scatterers were measured with and without a painted metal target. Simple discrim...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied optics (2004) 1999-06, Vol.38 (18), p.3937-3944
Main Authors: Lewis, G D, Jordan, D L, Roberts, P J
Format: Article
Language:English
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We describe a method for increasing target contrast within a turbid medium by means of the polarization state of the scattered light. The backscattered Mueller matrices for various concentrations of 0.1-microm spherical scatterers were measured with and without a painted metal target. Simple discrimination based on detecting cross-polarized intensities is shown to be more effective than the use of total intensity information. As a result, the choice of polarization state is dictated primarily by the requirement to maximize depolarization at the target. This in general means that circularly polarized light is the optimum choice.
ISSN:1559-128X
DOI:10.1364/AO.38.003937