Scattering of waves from nonlinear media with rough surfaces

Reflection and scattering of waves from plane and statistically rough interfaces between nonlinear media are studied theoretically. New hysteresis-type dependences of the reflection and transmission coefficients on the amplitude of the incident wave and on the angle of incidence are predicted. Scattering diagrams for diffusely reflected and transmitted fields are calculated. It is found that when the dielectric constant is a steep function of the incident amplitude, nonlinearity suppresses the Bragg resonant scattering mechanism. Smooth roughness of the boundary is shown to enhance the penetration of evanescent waves into nonlinear media.