Abstract

Spectral emission polarization of quartz and calcite polished plates for observation angles of 20° and 70° is calculated by the substitution of complex index of refraction values for each mineral into Fresnel’s equations. The emission polarization is shown to be quite wavelength-dependent, demonstrating that selected narrow or medium-width (Δλ ≈ 1.5 μm) spectral bands exhibit a significantly higher percentage of polarization than a broad spectral band (Δλ ≈ 6 μm) for these two minerals. Field measurements with a broadband infrared radiometer yield polarizations on the order of 2% for a coarse-grained granite rock and beach sand (both quartz-rich). This implies that a more sensitive detector with a selected medium-width filter may be capable of measuring emission polarization accurately enough to make this parameter useful as a remote sensing tool for discrimination among rocks on the basis of texture.

© 1972 Optical Society of America

Variation of Single Particle Mid-Infrared Emission Spectrum with Particle Size

G. R. Hunt and L. M. Logan
Appl. Opt. 11(1) 142-147 (1972)

Scattering of a CO₂ laser beam at 10.6 μm by bare soils: experimental study of the polarized bidirectional scattering coefficient; model and comparison with directional emissivity measurements

Francoise Nerry, Marc Philippe Stoll, and Noaga Kologo
Appl. Opt. 30(27) 3984-3995 (1991)

Birefringence of Quartz and Calcite

R. N. Smartt and W. H. Steel
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 49(7) 710-712 (1959)

Dichroic Calcite Polarizers for the Infrared

T. J. Bridges and J. W. Kluver
Appl. Opt. 4(9) 1121-1125 (1965)

Properties of Ion-Bombarded Fused Quartz for Integrated Optics

R. D. Standley, W. M. Gibson, and J. W. Rodgers
Appl. Opt. 11(6) 1313-1316 (1972)