Scattering, transmission, and absorption by a rough resistive sheet - E polarization

Motivated by the use of thin conducting textiles in absorbers, the interaction of electromagnetic waves with a rough resistive sheet is examined. Expressions for the fields above and below the sheet are derived in terms of an equivalent current using Gaussian beam illumination. These field expressions are then used with equations derived from the conservation of energy to find the distribution of scattered, transmitted, and absorbed power using an exact numerical solution and the Kirchhoff approximation. As a consequence of the lack of refraction, the Kirchhoff single scattering solution produces strong coherent transmitted intensities at the forward angles with an attendant minimum in the incoherent intensity. A second minimum in the incoherent intensity is observed in the antispecular direction. Fields arising from multiple scattering interactions are observed independent of the Kirchhoff single scatter contributions at these angles for surfaces of large root-mean-square slope. An increase in the absorption in the sheet is also observed as surface roughness is increased. The increase in absorption is believed due to multiple scattering interactions on the surface.