Sergei G. PROSKURIN, Yukio YAMADA and Yukari TAKAHASHI

Mechanical Engineering Laboratory, Ministry of International Trade and Industry, 1-2 Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305 Japan

(Received November 11, 1994; Accepted June 8, 1995)

Absorption coefficient measurements of strongly scattering and weakly absorbing media have been performed using time resolved transmittance of a 100 fs pulse through a 30 mm slab containing latex spheres suspended in water and absorbing ink solutions. The scattering and absorption coefficients were selected so that the optical properties of the media were similar to those of biological tissues. Measured curves of time-resolved transmittance of the pulse through the media were used to estimate the optical properties of the media. The experiment was made at two different wavelengths, 784 nm and 810 nm. Estimated absorption coefficients were in good agreement with those measured in a nonscattering case by a spectrophotometer.

Key words : femtosecond pulse propagation, time-resolved transmittance, highly scattering media, optical properties of biological tissue