Thermal coherence tomography using match filter binary phase coded diffusion waves.

Energy transport in diffusion-wave fields is gradient-driven and therefore diffuse, yielding depth-integrated responses with poor axial resolution. Using matched-filter principles, we propose a methodology enabling these parabolic diffusion-wave energy fields to exhibit energy localization akin to propagating hyperbolic wave fields. This not only improves axial resolution but also allows for deconvolution of individual responses of superposed axially discrete sources, opening a new field of depth-resolved subsurface thermal coherence tomography using diffusion waves.