LATERAL WAVES
Abstract
When a radiator is located in a region wherein two or more wave types (1,2..) may propagate with different speeds, and when a boundary coupling these wave types is present, diffraction phenomena may arise which are describable in terms of lateral waves. A lateral wave is launched by that portion of the incident field of type 1, for example, which gives rise to a field of type 2 refracted parallel to the boundary and which in turn refracts into a field of type 1. The properties of lateral waves are reviewed in the transient and in the time-harmonic regimes. Concepts of wave coupling are emphasized, and general analytical features, as well as graphical procedures using refractive index diagrams, are described. Illustrative examples exhibit lateral waves on the interface between two homogeneous or inhomogeneous dielectrics, on a perfectly conducting plane immersed in an anisotropic and (or) compressible plasma, and also on a perfectly conducting half plane. The latter example shows how lateral waves may be diffracted by an edge discontinuity. Some relations between lateral waves, leaky waves, and spectral representations are also included.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 15, 1965
- Accession Number
- AD0630144
Entities
People
- Leopold B. Felsen
Organizations
- New York University Tandon School of Engineering