Novel Optical Techniques for Efficient Stand off Detection of Backscattered Polarimetric Signatures from Cluttered Targets

Novel detection concepts aimed to enhance the detection/discrimination capabilities of targets surrounded by scattering/cluttered backgrounds have been presented. The experimental results of this study, acquired using laser beams to illuminate scenes at specific wavelengths and interrogate their respective reflectance spectral features, indicate that spectral degree of linear polarization (DOLP) image difference techniques, as well as near-pixel multispectral detection techniques provide enhanced detection with high discrimination capabilities