An analytic tool for investigating backscattering mechanisms from rough surfaces

Summary form only given. In the study of scattering from randomly rough surfaces, numerical simulation methods have been used to generate a surface with known properties and then to compute scattering from it without using simplifying assumptions that are in common use in theoretical modeling methods. In practice, no technique is completely free from some kind of approximation, whether assumed or inherent to the method, and each approach has its advantages and disadvantages. We show an analytic expression for modeling backscattering from randomly rough surfaces which permits us to adjust a portion of the form of the surface correlation function. We first demonstrate that this is a valid model by comparing its predictions with moment method simulations of backscattering from known surfaces. Then, we note that the surface correlation function in this scattering model possesses an RMS slope, but can approach the exponential correlation function (which does not have an RMS slope) as close as one may wish. This means that we can control the amount of small and medium roughness scales that a surface may have and it enables us to see what would be the impact of these roughness scales on backscattering. It also allows us to see in what way and under what conditions the exponential correlation would fail and give wrong results.