Time-gated backscattered ballistic light imaging of objects in turbid water.

Time-gated optical imaging of objects in turbid water was carried out in a backscattering geometry using light pulses of different pulse widths and a time-gated detection scheme with variable gate widths. Experimental results demonstrate that ultrashort pulsed illumination with ultrashort gated detection significantly improve image contrast as compared to any other combinations. These results are important for imaging objects embedded in turbid media, such as cloud, fog, smoke, murky water, and biological tissues for military, civilian, and medical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]