Abstract

Many diverse engineering and scientific problems arise which require a thorough understanding of wave scattering from rough surfaces. For example, scattering due to roughness is important in such applications as radio communications, surface profilometry, remote sensing, underwater acoustics, silicon MOSFET physics, and thin-film coatings on optics. The two classical approaches to solving the rough surface scattering problem are limited in their application. The small perturbation method applies to surfaces that are slightly rough compared to the wavelength of the incident radiation, and the Kirchhoff approximation applies to surfaces that have large radii of curvature relative to the wavelength. Recently, Winebrenner and Ishimaru^1,2 introduced a new method for solving the rough surface scattering problem, which they call the phase perturbation technique. Unlike the two classical methods, the phase perturbation method seems to work well for surface roughness of the order of the incident wavelength.

© 1986 Optical Society of America