POLARIZED-LIGHT SCATTERING FROM SURFACE CONTAMINANTS

We develop a model to estimate the polarization state of the scattered light from certain surface particulates illuminated at near-grazing i ncidence. The polarization state of the light scattered by the isolate d particle must resemble that of a Rayleigh particle. Although this co ndition appears constraining, it holds approximately for several parti cle systems, including Arizona Road Dust. The model results are indepe ndent of the actual shape and refractive index of the contaminant, but are sensitive to the dimensions of the particle and may be used in si zing contaminants on substrates. We examine the sensitivity of the mod el to contaminant size and compare the model with experimental results . Published by Elsevier Science B.V.