Polarization properties of light backscattered from a two layer scatteringmedium

The polarization properties of light backscattered from a two layer scatter ing medium are investigated. Linear, circular and elliptical polarization s tates are considered and it is demonstrated that the degree of polarization of the backscattered light is sensitive to the optical properties of both layers and to layer thickness. Furthermore, it is shown that the polarizati on memory of circularly polarized light enables deeper layers to be probed whereas linearly polarized light is more sensitive to surface layers. This has applications for characterizing burns and melanoma. (C) 2000 Optical So ciety of America.