Short pulse detection and imaging of objects behind obscuring random layers

This paper presents a theory of imaging objects behind layers of scattering media. The transmitter is a focused array or an aperture emitting a short pulse. The scattered pulse is received by a focused array or aperture. The received signal consists of two components: the pulse scattered from a random medium and from the target, and these two components can be distinguished by the use of ultra wide band (UWB) pulse. The second moment of the received signal includes the fourth order moments of stochastic Green’s functions which are reduced to the second moments by the use of the circular complex Gaussian assumption, and of the generalized two-frequency mutual coherence function. This imaging theory is a generalization of optical coherence tomography (OCT), SAR and confocal imaging. It clarifies the relationships among resolution, coherence length, shower curtain effects, and backscattering enhancement.