Polarization discrimination for active imaging in scattering media

The results of a Monte Carlo computer simulation of active-illumination imaging of surfaces immersed in a scattering media are presented. The simulation is based on scattering by spherical or spheroidal Rayleigh particles and rigorously accounts for the polarization effects of the scattering process. Illumination with linear or circular polarization states and detection in the original and orthogonal polarization states are investigated. The object surfaces are modelled as diffuse scatterers which either preserve or randomize the polarization of the reflected light. The simulations clearly indicate that, in some situations, polarization discrimination can be effective in extending the depth of visibility. The effectiveness of this approach depends largely on the polarization properties of the surface to be imaged rather than the properties of the intervening scattering medium or the imaging geometry. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.