Mueller Matrix Decomposition for Rough Surface Materials Based on Laser Light Scattering and the Optimal Method
H-Z. Li, Z-M. Zhao , L. Li , X-J. Zhou , K. Ren and D-L. Zheng
Mueller matrix polarimetry (MMP) is useful for the characterization of complex samples, which is still challenging for multiple scattering of rough surface materials. The Mueller matrix represents the transfer function of an optical system when it interacts with polarized laser light, and its elements are related to specific properties and surface structures of samples. In this work a Mueller matrix decomposition method is proposed for rough surface materials based on He-Ne laser light scattering and the optimal method. The measured Mueller matrices of rough surface samples are respectively decomposed into Mueller-Jones and depolarization matrices related to nonuniform multiple scattering. The experimental results show that the method improves the Mueller matrix decomposition accuracy of the samples, with the decomposition accuracy of the soil is improved up to 67% compared with the traditional method. The method shows great potential for applications in polarization measurement, laser-matter interactions, target decomposition and polarization scattering of rough surface materials.
Keywords: He-Ne laser, laser light scattering, Mueller matrix decomposition, rough surface scattering, depolarization, target decomposition, laser-matter interactions