Method for reducing specular reflections in Mueller matrix imaging

Abstract

Mueller matrix polarimetry has emerged as a powerful tool for non-destructiveoptical analysis of biological tissues and bioorganic materials, offering detailed insights intopolarization-specific properties such as diattenuation, retardance, and depolarization. However,the accurate application of Mueller matrix polarimetry in biological media is often hindered byspecular reflections, which obscure signals from deeper tissue layers and degrade the samplevisualization and the polarimetric data quality. Existing methods to minimize specular reflectionhave limitations, especially in clinical or in vivo settings where sample positioning is constrained.Here, we introduce a new approach for avoiding or reducing specular highlights without havingto reduce light intensity. By using near-cross-polarization states between the polarization stategenerator and analyzer, we demonstrate that one can obtain an enhanced visualization of tissuestructures, reduce the appearance of specular reflections, and maintain a good polarimetriccontrast.