Discriminating optical parameters in double-layer turbid media by backscattered polarization patterns

In this letter a Monte Carlo (MC) algorithm is used to simulate the propagation of polarized light in double-layer turbid media and the 2-dimentional backscattered Stokes vectors and Mueller matrices are obtained. Relationships between backscattered Mueller matrix and optical properties, such as scattering, absorption and layered structure, are discussed in detail. Integrating the 2-dimentional Mueller matrix elements along radial and azimuthal directions, we obtain a reverse trend with respect to the optical parameters for upper and lower layers, which suggests possibilities for discriminating subtle optical properties in a double-layer structure using backscattered polarization patterns such as Mueller matrix.