Light scattering by randomly rough isotropic dielectric surfaces

Abstract

An experimental investigation of the angular distribution of the light scattered by randomly rough, two-dimensional, isotropic dielectric surfaces is presented. The surfaces, whose profiles constitute good approximations to Gaussian random processes with Gaussian correlation functions, are fabricated in a photoresist and characterized by means of a mechanical profilometer. The substrates employed in the fabrication of the samples consist of thick parallel plates of filter glass that absorb the incident light and whose refractive index is close to that of the photoresist. This allows us to approximate experimentally a situation in which the light is scattered by a randomly rough interface between two semi-infinite dielectric media, illuminated from the air side. The results display features that can be attributed to multiple scattering. In particular, significant amounts of cross-polarized scattered light, as well as an enhanced backscattering peak, were observed in the scattering measurements.