Resolution enhancement and separation of reverberation from target echo with the time reversal operator decomposition.

Time reversal operator (TRO) decompositions are performed in a model of an ocean wave guide containing a target and having different kinds of bottom. The objective is to study the effects of bottom reverberation and absorption by means of ultrasonic experiments. It is shown experimentally that the echo from a target can be separated from the bottom reverberation. Reverberation eigenvectors are back propagated in the wave guide leading to focus on the bottom. An amplitude correction is applied to both reverberation and signal eigenvectors to compensate for bottom absorption and thus to improve target resolution.