Study On Characteristics Of Polarized Skylight Based On Mie Scattering

In recent years, the characteristics of polarized skylight and its application in navigation system has been a research hotspot of scholars at home and abroad. Skylight through the Earth’s atmosphere aerosol scattering forms a specific polarization distribution. The desert ant and bees with extremely sensitive to the polarization direction of visual nervous system can use the pattern of sunlight polarization distribution for navigation, positioning, feeding, back to the nest; Dung beetle use moonlight polarization distribution for navigation, positioning, feeding, back to the cave; In addition, fish, migratory birds are also using atmospheric polarization distribution for geomagnetic navigation assisted correction; polarized light navigation has many advantages compared with other navigation methods. So although the distribution of polarized light is imperceptible to the human eye, the measurement and analysis work is of great significance.In this paper, by using Mie scattering theory of atmospheric optics and Stokes vector, discusses the theory of the generation mechanism of polarization pattern. Then based on Mueller matrix and the Stokes vector, a polarized light measurement system was set up. Using matlab language programming, the degree of polarization calculating software based on Mie scattering theory was designed. So was Polarization measurement data processing software. The degree of polarization calculating software based on Mie scattering theory simulated and displayed the degree of polarization in different waves scattering through different sizes of aerosol particles; Polarization measurement data processing software is able to achieve sub-band processing of the measurement data, it is possible to display the measured degree of polarization of polarized light, Stokes vector, and to graphically display the polarization distribution.With the measuring system and data processing software, we have done a lot of measuring and analyses on the atmospheric polarization properties. The measurement results prove that the measuring system can obtain the degree of polarized skylight. Then the degree and distribution of polarization under different bands or different spatial regions were obtained, analyzed. The polarized light polarization degree calculation software based on Mie scattering and the relationship under different bands was verified. Through the above analysis and discuss the wavelength selection of atmospheric polarization under various conditions of applied to the bionic navigation.