Extinction theorem and propagation of electromagnetic waves between two anisotropic materials

Abstract

Based on molecular optics we investigate the reflection and refraction of an electromagnetic wave between two semi-infinite anisotropic magnetoelectric materials. In terms of Hertz vectors and the principle of superposition, we generalize the extinction theorem and derive the propagation characteristics of wave. Using these results we can easily explain the physical origin of Brewster effect. Our results extend the extinction theorem to the propagation of wave between two arbitrary anisotropic materials and the methods used can be applied to other problems of wave propagation in materials, such as scattering of light.