Multispectral, multifusion, laser-polarimetric optical imaging system
First Claim
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1. A multi-energy polarization imaging system comprising:
- a light source for illuminating a target with a first quantity of light having a first wavelength and a second quantity of light having a second wavelength, wherein the second wavelength is different than the first wavelength;
a polarization-state generator for generating a polarization state for each of the first and second quantities of light, the polarization-state generator comprising a first polarizer through which the first and second quantities of light are transmitted before entering a first waveplate;
a polarization-state receiver for evaluating a resulting polarization state of the first and second quantities of light following illumination of the target, the polarization-state receiver comprising a second waveplate through which the first and second quantities of light are transmitted before entering a second polarizer;
an optical image-capture device for capturing a first image of the target illuminated by the first quantity of light and a second image of the target illuminated by the second quantity of light; and
a processing unit for assigning a weighting factor to at least one of the first and second images and evaluating a weighted difference between the first and second images to generate a multi-energy image of the target,wherein the processing unit comprises an artificial fuzzy neural network that uses information stored in the computer readable memory to determine a suitable wavelength for each of the first and second quantities of light for the conditions at a time when the multi-energy image is to be generated.
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Abstract
In one embodiment, the present invention is directed to a multi-energy polarization imaging method consisting of a multi-fusion, dual-rotating retarder/multiple-energy complete Mueller matrix-based polarimeter and dual-energy capabilities. By subtracting polarimetric parameters such as degree of polarization, degree of linear polarization, degree of circular polarization, respectively, obtained with interrogation light beams of wavelengths λ1, and λ2, the system of the present invention can obtain, in one embodiment, enhanced imaging.
37 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A multi-energy polarization imaging system comprising:
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a light source for illuminating a target with a first quantity of light having a first wavelength and a second quantity of light having a second wavelength, wherein the second wavelength is different than the first wavelength; a polarization-state generator for generating a polarization state for each of the first and second quantities of light, the polarization-state generator comprising a first polarizer through which the first and second quantities of light are transmitted before entering a first waveplate; a polarization-state receiver for evaluating a resulting polarization state of the first and second quantities of light following illumination of the target, the polarization-state receiver comprising a second waveplate through which the first and second quantities of light are transmitted before entering a second polarizer; an optical image-capture device for capturing a first image of the target illuminated by the first quantity of light and a second image of the target illuminated by the second quantity of light; and a processing unit for assigning a weighting factor to at least one of the first and second images and evaluating a weighted difference between the first and second images to generate a multi-energy image of the target, wherein the processing unit comprises an artificial fuzzy neural network that uses information stored in the computer readable memory to determine a suitable wavelength for each of the first and second quantities of light for the conditions at a time when the multi-energy image is to be generated. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method for generating a multi-energy image of a target, the method comprising the steps of:
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emitting a first quantity of light having a first wavelength and a second quantity of light having a second wavelength that is different than the first wavelength; creating an initial polarization state for each of the first and second quantities of light by polarizing and then retarding one component of each of the first and second polarized quantities of light relative to another component of the first and second quantities of light; directing the polarization state for each of the first and second quantities of light generally toward the target; analyzing a resulting polarization state for each of the first and second quantities of light by retarding one component of the first and second quantities of light following illumination of the target relative to another component of the first and second quantities of light, and then polarizing the retarded first and second quantities of light; capturing a first image of the target illuminated by the first quantity of light and a second image of the target illuminated by the second quantity of light; weighting at least one of the first and second images; and generating the multi-energy image of the target by evaluating a weighted difference between the first and second images, wherein the step of generating the multi-energy image of the target comprises the steps of; determining a difference between the at least one weighted image and the remaining image; generating a Mueller matrix for the difference between the two images; and
displaying an image generated from the Mueller matrix for the difference between the two images. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for generating a multi-energy image of a target, the method comprising the steps of:
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emitting a first quantity of light having a first wavelength and a second quantity of light having a second wavelength that is different than the first wavelength; creating an initial polarization state for each of the first and second quantities of light by polarizing and then retarding one component of each of the first and second polarized quantities of light relative to another component of the first and second quantities light; directing the polarization state for each of the first and second quantities of light generally toward the target; analyzing a resulting polarization state for each of the first and second quantities of light by retarding one component of the first and second quantities of light following illumination of the target relative to another component of the first and second quantities of light, and then polarizing the retarded first and second quantities of light; capturing a first image of the target illuminated by the first quantity of light and a second image of the target illuminated by the second quantity of light; weighting at least one of the first and second images; and generating the multi-energy image of the target by evaluating a weighted difference between the first and second images, wherein the step of generating the multi-energy image of the target comprises the steps of; determining a difference between the at least one weighted image and the remaining image; generating a Mueller matrix for the difference between the two images; and displaying an image generated from the Mueller matrix for the difference between the two images.
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Specification