Abstract

A previous publication shows that two classes of radiation pattern result from diffusers having a normally distributed surface profile and an rms phase delay much greater than 1 rad.¹ The functional form of the radiation pattern depends on the behavior of the autocorrelation function of the surface profile for small offsets. If the autocorrelation function is cone shaped near the origin, the shape of the radiation pattern depends on the parameter w/S², where w is the correlation length and S is the rms phase delay of the diffuser. However, if the correlation function is rounded at the origin, i.e., parabolic, the shape of the radiation pattern depends on w/S.

© 1987 Optical Society of America