Durduran T, Yodh A G, Chance B, Boas D A
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 19104, USA.
J Opt Soc Am A Opt Image Sci Vis. 1997 Dec;14(12):3358-65. doi: 10.1364/josaa.14.003358.
We investigate the controversy over the precise form of the photon diffusion coefficient and suggest that it is largely independent of absorption, i.e., Do = v/3mu(s)'. After presentation of the general theoretical arguments underlying this assertion, Monte Carlo simulations are performed and explicitly reveal that the absorption independent diffusion coefficient gives better agreement with theory than the traditionally accepted photon diffusion coefficient, D(mu)a = v/3(mu(s) + mu(a)). The importance of resolving this controversy for the proper characterization of the material optical properties is discussed.
