Statistical speckle study to characterize scattering media: use of two complementary approaches

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Materials Science
• Biophysics

Background:

• Speckle patterns from scattering media encode valuable optical property information.
• Statistical analysis of speckle aids in differentiating media and monitoring changes.
• Existing methods include stochastic (fractional Brownian motion) and classical (speckle size) approaches.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel multi-scale speckle analysis approach.
• To compare the efficacy of the multi-scale stochastic approach against classical methods for sample discrimination.
• To characterize changes in monodisperse polystyrene microspheres in solution and mixtures.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a multi-scale stochastic approach incorporating fractional Brownian motion.
• Employed a classical frequential approach based on speckle size measurement.
• Applied these methods to analyze speckle patterns from polystyrene microspheres.

Main Results:

• The multi-scale stochastic approach provides richer information than speckle dimension alone.
• The stochastic approach demonstrated superior sample discrimination capabilities.
• Significant differences in discrimination were observed compared to the classical frequential approach.

Conclusions:

• A multi-scale stochastic speckle analysis is effective for characterizing scattering media.
• This advanced method offers enhanced discrimination of samples, such as polystyrene microspheres.
• The findings suggest a promising direction for optical property characterization using speckle statistics.