Patent ID: 11933899
Assignee: THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO
Field: Measurement (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G  Y | IPC G

Claim 8:
9. A method of mapping a surface topography, comprising:
generating a pulse of polarized light;
scattering at least some portion of the pulse of polarized light onto a water surface and a bottom surface;
receiving the scattered light from the water surface and the bottom surface as a received pulse, wherein the received pulse has an ambiguous intrapulse overlap portion;
separating the ambiguous intrapulse overlap portion into a first component associated with the water surface and a second component associated with the bottom surface based on a polarization difference between the first component and the second component;
determining an amount of time elapsed between the first component and the second component; and
calculating a relative distance between the water surface and the bottom surface based on the amount of time elapsed, thereby achieving a sub-pulse width resolution.