Polarization memory effect: imaging through scattering media

Abstract

Polarization is an unexploited property of light that provide us additional information in very diverse fields. Hence, in the last decade the concept of polarimetric imaging has risen as a powerful tool for plenty of applications such as remote sensing, medical diagnosis, astronomy, transport and surveillance… This communication presents the capability of a Division of Focal Plane (DOFP) camera jointly with active polarized illumination to improve the contrast when imaging a scene in turbid media such as fog. Due to the polarization memory effect, using polarization-gating method allows detecting embedded objects with a lower signal-to-noise ratio, and thus, higher contrast when propagating through scattering media. In addition, the polarization signature reflected by the objects depends on their nature, since the index of refraction modifies the polarization response. This allows distinguishing different materials such as metal and dielectric under active polarization imaging even in hazard conditions as fog.