Path-length distribution and path-length-resolved Doppler measurements of multiply scattered photons by use of low-coherence interferometry

Abstract

We report first results of measurements by low-coherence Doppler interferometry of the path-length distribution of photons undergoing multiple scattering in a highly turbid medium. We use a Mach-Zehnder interferometer with multimode graded-index fibers and a superluminescent diode as the light source. The path-length distribution is obtained by recording of the heterodyne fluctuations that arise from the Brownian motion of particles in an Intralipid suspension as a function of the optical path length. The experimental path-length distribution is in good agreement with predictions of Monte Carlo simulations. In the heterodyne spectrum, an increase of the mean Doppler frequency with path length is observed.