Target detection in sun glint using the improved MWIR polarization technique

The sun glint problem is a major issue to be addressed for MWIR marine targets detection. The traditional technique based on the single horizontal linear polarizer was a common method to reduce the sun glint by eliminating its s-polarized component, nevertheless, the residual p-polarized component could be still too strong to saturate the detector in some cases. To solve this problem, the improved polarization technique based on two rotatable polarizers is presented. The field experiment results show that the improved polarization technique can significantly reduce sun glint and enhance the contrast of target images, confirming the effectiveness of the technology.

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