Diffraction by an arbitrary-angled dielectric wedge. I. Physical optics approximation

A complete form is presented of the physical optics solution to diffraction by an arbitrary dielectric wedge angle with any relative dielectric constant in cases of both E- and H-polarized plane waves incident on one side of two dielectric interfaces. The solution, which is obtained by performing the physical optics (PO) approximation to the dual integral equation formulated in the spatial frequency domain, is constructed by the geometrical optics terms, including multiple reflection inside the wedge and the edge diffracted field. The diffraction coefficients of the edge diffracted field are represented in a simple form as two finite series of cotangent functions weighted by the Fresnel reflection coefficients. Far-field patterns of the PO solutions for a wedge angle of 45°, relative dielectric constants 2, 10, and 100, and an E-polarized incident angle of 150° are plotted in figures, revealing abrupt discontinuities at dielectric interfaces