Applying the Polarization Memory Effect in Polarization-gated Subsurface Imaging

Abstract

Polarization memory is a well established phenomenon occurring when circularly polarized light propagates in turbid media of larger particles. Recent studies have demonstrated that the circularly crosspolarized imaging can significantly improve subsurface reflection contrast due to the polarization memory effect. We have found that such improvement is strongly influenced by the optical properties of the media. Circularly cross-polarized light provides superior image enhancement in low scattering media, but becomes inferior in high scattering media. Our experiments also demonstrate that polarization imaging provides no significant improvement to image resolution.