On the direct calculation of a transient plane wave reflected from a finitely conducting half space

An approach to the computation of the electromagnetic field reflected from a lossy half-space directly in the time domain is discussed. This approach requires first evaluating the impulse response of the half-space and then convolving it with the specified incident field waveform. To obtain the impulsive reflected field, either for vertical or horizontal polarization, approximations to the Fresnel reflection coefficients are made, thereby permitting an analytical expression in the time domain. Several different numerical examples using this technique are presented to illustrate the use of the method and the error contained in the solution