Bragg remnants in stratified random media.

Abstract

We investigate the properties of stratified one-dimensional disordered media, in which all layers have the same thickness, but the refractive indices have a random component. We concentrate on wavelengths of the same order of magnitude as the layer thickness, and we find that the localization length exhibits a surprisingly rich behavior at these wavelengths. A simple description shows that this behavior is similar to that of periodic media, except when a half-integer number of wavelengths fit, on the average, in each layer. At these wavelengths periodic structures are transparent, while the random media considered here are most strongly reflective.