Reflection and refraction of an arbitrary electromagnetic wave at a plane interface separating an isotropic and a...

Exact solutions are obtained for the reflected and transmitted fields resulting when an arbitrary electromagnetic field is incident on a plane interface separating an isotropic medium and a biaxially anisotropic medium in which one of the principal axes is along the interface normal. From our exact solutions for the reflected fields resulting when a plane TE or TM wave is incident on the plane interface, it can be inferred that the reflected field contains both a TE and a TM component. This gives a change in polarization that can be utilized to determine the properties of the biaxial medium. The time-harmonic solution for the reflected field is in the form of two quadruple integrals, one of which is a superposition of plane waves polarized perpendicular to the plane of incidence and the other a superposition of plane waves polarized parallel to the plane of incidence. The time-harmonic solution for the transmitted field is also in the form of two quadruple integrals. Each of these is a superposition of extraordinary plane waves with displacement vectors that are perpendicular to the direction of phase propagation.