Scattering from an elliptical cylinder by using the vectorial complex ray model

The vectorial complex ray model (VCRM) is applied to the light scattering of an elliptical cylinder illuminated by a plane wave. In the VCRM, all waves are described by vectorial complex rays, and the scattering intensities are computed by the superposition of the complex amplitudes of the vectorial rays. The significant merit of this approach is that the wave properties are integrated in the ray model such that the divergence/convergence of the wave each time it encounters a dioptric surface is deduced by the wavefront curvature equation, and the phase shifts due to the focal lines are determined directly by the curvature of the wavefront. The approach is particularly suitable for a large cylinder with an elliptical cross section. (C) 2012 Optical Society of America