Influence mechanism of the particle size on underwater active polarization imaging of reflective targets

Underwater active polarization imaging is a promising imaging method, however, it is ineffective in some scenarios. In this work, the influence of the particle size from isotropic (Rayleigh regime) to forward-scattering on polarization imaging is investigated by both Monte Carlo simulation and quantitative experiments. The results show the non-monotonic law of imaging contrast with the particle size of scatterers. Furthermore, through polarization-tracking program, the polarization evolution of backscattered light and target diffuse light are detailed quantitatively with Poincare sphere. The findings indicate that the noise light's polarization and intensity scattering field change significantly with the particle size. Based on this, the influence mechanism of the particle size on underwater active polarization imaging of reflective targets is revealed for the first time. Moreover, the adapted principle of scatterer particle scale is also provided for different polarization imaging methods. (c) 2023 Optica Publishing Group

Automated summary

The influence of particle size on underwater active polarization imaging is investigated using Monte Carlo simulation and quantitative experiments. The results show a non-monotonic relationship between the particle size of scatterers and imaging contrast. The polarization evolution of backscattered light and target diffuse light is quantitatively analyzed, revealing significant changes in the polarization and intensity scattering field with particle size.