Characterization of highly scattering media by measurement of diffusely backscattered polarized light
An apparatus and method for recording spatially dependent intensity patterns of polarized light that is diffusely backscattered from highly scattering media are described. These intensity patterns can be used to differentiate different turbid media, such as polystyrene-sphere and biological-cell suspensions. Polarized light from a He-Ne laser ({lambda} = 543 nm) is focused onto the surface of the scattering medium, and a surface area of approximately 4 x 4 cm centered on the light input point is imaged through polarization analysis optics onto a CCD camera. A variety of intensity patterns may be observed by varying the polarization state of the incident laser light and changing the analyzer configuration to detect different polarization components of the backscattered light. Experimental results for polystyrene-sphere and intralipid suspensions demonstrate that the radial and azimuthal variations of the observed pattern depend on the concentration, size, and anisotropy factor, g, of the particles constituting the scattering medium. Measurements performed on biological cell suspensions show that intensity patterns can be used to differentiate between suspensions of cancerous and non-cancerous cells. Introduction of the Mueller-matrix for diffusely backscattered light, permits the selection of a subset of measurements which comprehensively describes the optical properties of backscattering media.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-36
- Assignee:
- LANL; EDB-00:006683
- Application Number:
- Int. Cl. G01J 4/00; US 6,011,626/A/; 9-045,258; TRN: IM200010%%130
- OSTI ID:
- 20013262
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 4 Jan 2000
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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