Polarization analysis of speckle field below its transverse correlation width : application to surface and bulk scattering.

An experimental method for accurate polarimetric characterization of speckle field below its transverse correlation width is proposed. Using a polarimetric analyzer, the speckle field under investigation is probed by a set of polarimetric projections describing the full Poincaré sphere surface. Spatial polarimetric variations of the speckle field are thus observed with an accuracy of 1% for each Stokes parameter. Moreover, all the experimental data can be guaranteed by a validity criterion. Using white paper sheet and rough metal samples, the method exhibits strong potential to analyze and differentiate speckle fields generated by bulk and surface scattering.