Single fiber light scattering matrix: an experimental determination

The entire light scattering matrix is experimentally determined for two fused silica cylinders illuminated at normal incidence (lambda441.6 nm). Radii of 0.960 +/- 0.002 and 3.091 +/- 0.003 microm are determined by comparison with Mie theory indicating that micron-sized fiber radii can be determined to within a few nanometers by polarized light scattering techniques. The single fiber provides a good calibration source for polarization nephalometers, being free from problems inherent with spheres in solution. The fiber is a well-known geometry which is amenable to perturbation toward irregular shapes, and as such it provides the starting point for studying scattering from irregular particles.