Bistatic scattering from three-dimensional layered rough surfaces

An analytical method to calculate the bistatic-scattering coefficients of a three-dimensional layered dielectric structure with slightly rough interfaces is presented. The interfaces are allowed to be statistically distinct, but possibly dependent. The waves in each region are represented as a superposition of an infinite number of up- and down-going spectral components whose amplitudes are found by simultaneously matching the boundary conditions at both interfaces. A small-perturbation formulation is used up to the first order, and the scattered fields are derived. The calculation intrinsically takes into account multiple scattering processes between the boundaries. The formulation is then validated against known solutions to special cases. New results are generated for several cases of two- and three-layer media, which will be directly applicable for modeling of the signals from radar systems and subsequent estimation of a layered medium subsurface properties, such as moisture content and layer depths.