Pulse backscattering tomography based on lidar principle

It is shown that using sufficiently short pulses of sensing radiation (physical δ-pulses) one can determine in a simple, stable and fast contactless way the spatial distribution of the backscattering and extinction coefficients within a translucent scattering object. One should only measure, in combination with a lateral scan, the backscattering signal profile and the pulse energy passing through the object along each current line of sight at both the mutually opposite directions of sensing. It is also shown that deconvolution techniques may be employed to avoid the necessity of ultrashort sensing pulses. The possibilities of some signal-registration techniques to ensure ultrashort spatial sampling intervals for various types of sensing radiation are discussed.