Enhanced backscattering of light from weakly rough, random metal surfaces

Abstract

The enhanced backscattering of p-polarized light from a small-rms-height, small-rms-slope, one-dimensional, random metal surface was first predicted on the basis of an infinite-order perturbation calculation that used the techniques of many-body theory and the concepts of weak localization theory. We present an elementary calculation of the contribution to the mean differential reflection coefficient from the incoherent component of the scattered light that is based on the first two nonzero terms in the expansion of this function in powers of the surface-profile function. We show that this approach not only accounts for enhanced backscattering but also gives the correct order of magnitude of the effect predicted by infinite-order perturbation theory.