A UTD type analysis of the plane wave scattering by a fully illuminated perfectly conducting cone

A uniform high-frequency asymptotic solution, based on the physical optics (PO) approximation, is obtained in the format of the uniform geometrical theory of diffraction (UTD) to describe the fields diffracted by the tip of a semi-infinite, perfectly conducting cone when it is fully illuminated by an electromagnetic plane wave. The solution is expressed in terms of an integral, over finite limits which can be integrated numerically without difficulty. The results computed from the uniform asymptotic PO solution compare well with previously published results given for narrow-angle semi-infinite cones. In addition, they compare well with measurement and with an independent moment method (MM) solution for the scattering by a finite flat-backed cone in which several higher order wave interactions are found to be significant; one such interaction is between the tip and the base of the cone. Expressions are provided which are useful for calculating this tip-base interaction and confirm its relative importance. These expressions also provide tip diffraction effects which are important within the forward paraxial zone for the radiation by antennas on cones