Experimental study on contrast-to-noise ratio and visibility in thermal ghost imaging with partially polarized pseudothermal light

Abstract

We experimentally study the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and visibility using two pseudothermal light sources. A ground glass and a plastic diffuser are used respectively for producing our speckle beams with high and low degrees of polarization. The experimental CNR in the case of using the ground glass is in good agreement with the theoretical value. In the case of using the plastic diffuser, the experimental CNR can be improved to be close to the theoretical value by post-treating the bucket signal. Before the CNR is obtained, the degree of improvement can be determined by comparing a statistical parameter of the bucket signal with a fitted parameter of the probability density function.