The first edition of this monograph appeared two years ago. In this second edition we have added a chapter on the reflection of light by a gyrotropic medium. In the literature there are two methods to describe homogeneous gyrotropic media. These methods lead to different reflection amplitudes of such a medium using the so-called standard boundary conditions (Fresnel). The theory developed in the first edition of the book is shown to be eminently useful to elucidate the origin of this difference. Gyrotropic contributions due to the interfacial layer are also discussed.Furthermore we added a section on self-affine surfaces in the chapter on rough surfaces. Such surfaces are simultaneously flat and rough over the same range of lengths. They have a well-defined roughness exponent. Reflection studies may give information about this exponent.We are grateful to Professor M. Osipov from the Strathclyde University, Glasgow, Scotland, who drew our attention to the problems regarding the reflection amplitudes for gyrotropic media and helped us to address these questions. We are also indebted to Dr. S. Gheorghiu from the Technical University in Delft, The Netherlands, for his help with the section on self-affine surfaces and to Dr. C. Chassagne from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, for her help with the figure in that section.We also want to thank Caroline C. Vlieger for designing the cover of both editions of this book. February PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITIONThe aim of the book is to present in a systematic manner the exact results the authors obtained over the years for the description of the optical properties of thin films and rough surfaces. This work found its origin 30 years ago in a discussion of one of us (J.V.), during a sabbatical, with the late Professor Dr. G.D. Scott of the University of Toronto, Canada, about the Maxwell Garnett theory. Many questions arose which resulted in a paper by Vlieger on the reflection and transmission of light by a twodimensional square lattice of polarizable dipoles (Physica 64, page 63, 1973). When the other author (D.B.) read this paper he was surprised by the efforts to describe the results in terms of a layer of a finite thickness, using Maxwell Garnett, while the original model had a polarizability, which was so clearly restricted to the plane of the surface. A choice of the optical thickness in terms of the distance between the dipoles seemed to be constructed. It appeared much more reasonable to replace a thin layer, compared to the wavelength of the incident light, by an infinitesimally thin layer, than the other way around. Of course the formulation of a new theory in terms of an infinitesimally thin polarizable dipole layer, which was compatible with Maxwell's equations, is easier said than done. It turned out to be necessary to introduce singularities in the electric and magnetic field at the surface in addition to the occurrence of such singularities in the sources of these fields (Physica A 67, page 55, 1973). A general description was deve...

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract