A survey of the near-field far-field inverse scattering inverse source integral equation

The Kirchhoff direct integration of the scalar wave equation is reviewed, and some properties of the Kirchhoff surface integral are discussed, from the perspective of the inverse scattering inverse source problem. A modified Kirchhoff surface integral is introduced, leading to a Fredholm integral equation of the first kind for the unknown sources (induced by the incident field) inside a volume in terms of the (scattered) fields on the surface enclosing this volume. The properties and physical meaning of this integral equation are discussed. A generalization of this integral equation for the vector electromagnetic wave equations is presented.