Short-Wave Infrared Diffuse Reflectance of Textile Materials

This thesis analyzes the reflectance behavior of textiles in the short-wave infrared (SWIR) band (1 – 2 microns) in order to identify/design potential diagnostic tools that allow the remote detection of human presence in a scene. Analyzing the spectral response of fabrics in the SWIR band has gained significant interest in the remote sensing community since it provides a potential path to discriminate camouflaged clothing from backgrounds that appear similar to the object of interest in the visible band. Existing research, originating primarily from the textiles community, has thoroughly documented the behavior of clothing fabrics in the visible band. Other work has shown that the differences in spectral response in the SWIR band allows for discrimination of materials that otherwise have the same visible spectral response. This work expands on those efforts in order to quantify the reflectance behavior and to better understand the physical basis for that behavior. INDEX WORDS: Diffuse reflectance, Textile materials, Short-wave infrared