Electromagnetic theory of diffraction by a system of parallel rods: the method of fictitious sources

We study the field diffracted by a system of rods that are parallel to the z axis and illuminated by an incident field that does not depend on z. These rods can be dielectric or metallic, and their cross sections are to a large extent arbitrary. Starting from the fundamental laws of electromagnetics, we show that the solution can be obtained by the method of fictitious sources, a relatively new method that has been developed during the past few years. Both theoretical and numerical aspects are investigated.