Abstract

The angular dependence and the polarization of light scattered by a small particle a distance d inside and outside a reflecting surface is calculated in the Rayleigh limit. This calculation yields expressions for the polarized bidirectional reflectance distribution function matrices for in-plane and out-of-plane scattering. The results are compared with those obtained from microroughness-induced scattering. For the p-in/p-out configuration with oblique incidence, there exist out-of-plane angles for which scattering that is due to one of the mechanisms vanishes, whereas that from the others does not. By exploiting this knowledge, we can make improvements in the detection of small particles or subsurface defects. It is also shown that one must take care when differentiating subsurface-defect-induced scattering from microroughness-induced scattering using in-plane scattering and wavelength scaling laws.

© 1997 Optical Society of America

Polarization of out-of-plane scattering from microrough silicon

Thomas A. Germer, Clara C. Asmail, and Bradley W. Scheer
Opt. Lett. 22(17) 1284-1286 (1997)

Polarization of light scattered by microrough surfaces and subsurface defects

Thomas A. Germer and Clara C. Asmail
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 16(6) 1326-1332 (1999)

Extended bidirectional reflectance distribution function for polarized light scattering from subsurface defects under a smooth surface

Jian Shen, Degang Deng, Weijin Kong, Shijie Liu, Zicai Shen, Chaoyang Wei, Hongbo He, Jianda Shao, and Zhengxiu Fan
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 23(11) 2810-2816 (2006)

Polarized light scattering by microroughness and small defects in dielectric layers

Thomas A. Germer
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 18(6) 1279-1288 (2001)

Polarized light-scattering measurements of dielectric spheres upon a silicon surface

Lipiin Sung, George W. Mulholland, and Thomas A. Germer
Opt. Lett. 24(13) 866-868 (1999)