Abstract

Up until now most experimental studies of the enhanced backscattering of light from rough surfaces have focused on randomly rough surfaces. We report observations of the enhanced backscattering of light from deterministic surfaces. Angular light-scattering measurements are presented for a deterministic one-dimensional metallic surface when the light illuminates the rough surface from vacuum. We also present measurements for a deterministic dielectric sample consisting of a photoresist film with a rough one-dimensional interface deposited on a plane-parallel glass plate, illuminated through the glass substrate. Numerical simulations of the problem that confirm the existence of backscattering effects by means of approximate models for the samples employed in the experiments are also presented. As with random systems, it is believed that the observed enhanced backscattering is due to the constructive interference of multiply scattered optical waves.

© 1996 Optical Society of America

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