Scattering from rough thin films: DDA-simulations

TL;DR

This paper uses DDA simulations to analyze how roughness and inhomogeneity in thin films affect light scattering, comparing results with analytical models to evaluate the method's effectiveness.

Contribution

It demonstrates the applicability of discrete-dipole approximation to rough thin films and compares inhomogeneity effects with Maxwell Garnett theory.

Findings

DDA simulations effectively model rough thin film scattering.

Inhomogeneity effects align with Maxwell Garnett approximation.

Roughness models significantly influence scattering patterns.

Abstract

We investigate the wave-optical light scattering properties of deformed thin circular films of constant thickness using the discrete-dipole approximation. Effects on the intensity distribution of the scattered light due to different statistical roughness models, model dependant roughness parameters, and uncorrelated random small-scale porosity of the inhomogeneous medium are studied. The usability of discrete-dipole approximation to rough-surface scattering problems is evaluated by considering thin films as computationally feasible rough-surface analogs. The effects due to small-scale inhomogeneity of the scattering medium are compared with the analytic approximation by Maxwell Garnett and the results are found to agree with the approximation.