Polarization dependence of light scattered from rough surfaces with steep slopes

Kevin A. O'Donnell; Michael E. Knotts

doi:10.1117/12.49641

11 November 1991 Polarization dependence of light scattered from rough surfaces with steep slopes

Kevin A. O'Donnell, Michael E. Knotts

Proceedings Volume 1558, Wave Propagation and Scattering in Varied Media II; (1991) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.49641
Event: San Diego, '91, 1991, San Diego, CA, United States

Abstract

We discuss measurements of the infrared scattering properties of one- and two-dimensional conducting randomly rough surfaces. The surfaces are fabricated in photoresist and are checked with a stylus profilometer to verify that the surface statistics agree with the desired results. For surfaces that have steep slopes and lateral scale sizes comparable to the illumination wavelength, we observe strongly enhanced backscattering toward the source. These observations are shown to be strongly dependent on polarization. In the case of a one- dimensional surface, four distinct quantities appear in the Stokes scattering matrix, and examples of measurements of these quantities are presented. For the case of a two- dimensionally rough surface it is discussed that, even if the incident field is purely linearly polarized, the scattered light consists of both polarized and randomly polarized components. In the backscattering region, the polarized component contains linear, elliptical, and even nearly circular polarization states at various field angles. These data are interpreted and are consistent with the statistical isotropy of the surface.

Citation Download Citation

Kevin A. O'Donnell and Michael E. Knotts "Polarization dependence of light scattered from rough surfaces with steep slopes", Proc. SPIE 1558, Wave Propagation and Scattering in Varied Media II, (11 November 1991); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.49641

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