Backscattering effects in the elastic scattering of p-polarized light from a large-amplitude random metallic grating

Abstract

We study the scattering of a p-polarized beam incident onto a random grating whose grooves are perpendicular to the plane of incidence. The scattered field is expressed in terms of the total magnetic field and its normal derivative on the surface of the grating. The integral equations satisfied by these functions are solved numerically for each of several hundred realizations of the surface profile possessing a Gaussian spectrum. The diffuse component of the differential reflection coefficient averaged over these realizations displays a well-defined peak in the retroreflection direction for metallic and perfectly conducting random gratings but not for random gratings on dielectric surfaces.