The polarization properties of scattered light are being exploited to determine the optical and physical information of small particles. In this paper, a scatterometer is developed for simultaneously measuring the Mueller scattering matrix elements as functions of the scattering angle. The scatterometer uses an electro-optic modulator to modulate the polarization state of the incident light, and uses two photomultipliers provided with different polarization optics to consist multichannel polarization-state detector. The instrument takes advantage of combination of the polarizationmodulation technique and division-of -amplitude photopolarimeter, which make for a compact design and substantial increase in measurement throughput and speed. The methods of calibration and alignment using the polarizationmodulated light are established, with which the instrument is calibrated precisely. The methods of data processing and error analysis of the measured Mueller matrix elements are developed. A hybrid experimental/theoretical approach to study the light scattering properties of smoke particles is also presented.

Date Published: 20 November 2009
PDF: 10 pages
Proc. SPIE 7511, 2009 International Conference on Optical Instruments and Technology: Optoelectronic Measurement Technology and Systems, 75110M (20 November 2009);

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 7511:
2009 International Conference on Optical Instruments and Technology: Optoelectronic Measurement Technology and Systems
Shenghua Ye; Guangjun Zhang; Jun Ni, Editor(s)