Spatially resolved reflectance from turbid media having a rough surface. Part I: simulations

Abstract

Determining the optical properties of turbid media with spatially resolved reflectance measurements is a well-known method in optical metrology. Typically, the surfaces of the investigated materials are assumed to be perfectly smooth. In most realistic cases, though, the surface has a rough topography and scatters light. In this study, we investigated the influence of the Cook–Torrance surface scattering model and the generalized Harvey–Shack surface scattering model on the spatially resolved reflectance based on Monte Carlo simulations. Besides analyzing the spatially resolved reflectance signal, we focused on the influence of surface scattering on the determination of the reduced scattering coefficients and absorption coefficients of turbid media. Both models led to significant errors in the determination of optical properties when roughness was not accounted for.