Scattering and polarization conversion of electromagnetic waves obliquely incident on a magnetized plasma layer

Abstract

This paper addresses the scattering of electromagnetic waves obliquely incident on a magnetized plasma layer. It is shown that the polarizations of the waves can be converted when they are obliquely incident on a magnetized plasma layer. The scattering coefficients of the incident and converted waves are computed based on the analytic solutions of a uniform magnetized plasma slab. The total transmittance and reflectance are similar to those of the normal incidence, but the individual scattering coefficients of the incident and converted waves vary, depending on the dispersion characteristics of the ordinary and extraordinary modes in the plasma. The contributions of the converted wave increase with the wave number parallel to the magnetic field but decrease as the frequency increases above the upper hybrid resonance, regardless of the parallel wave number.