Depolarization and backscatter enhancement in light scattering from random rough surfaces: comparison of full-wave theory with experiment

The full-wave approach is used to interpret the recently observed depolarization and enhanced backscattering of light from random rough surfaces fabricated in photoresist with an aluminum overcoating [ MendezE. R.O’DonnellK. A., Opt. Commun.61, 91 ( 1987); O’DonnellK. A.MendezE. R., J. Opt. Soc. Am. A4, 1194 ( 1987)]. A second-order iterative solution based on the rigorous full-wave approach indicates that, contrary to the suggestions made by Mendez and O’Donnell (who performed the experiments and considered numerous other theories), the observed enhanced backscatter is a first-order effect that can be attributed to single scatter rather than to multiple scatter.