Electromagnetic scattering from prolate spheroids for axial incidence

Using improved techniques for computing spheroidal wave functions, the exact far-field scattering cross sections (backscattering, forward scattering, bistatic scattering, and total scattering) for a variety of perfectly conducting prolate spheroids and for axial incidence of a plane electromagnetic wave, are obtained in the Rayleigh and resonance regions extending to the sixth maximum of the backscattering cross section in each case and selected results are presented. It is noted that some of the previous computations existing in the literature for the spheroid with an axial ratio of 10 are in error. Experimental data collected from various sources are compared with the computed curves of this paper and are found to be in excellent agreement.