RSEP Part I EM Scattering

Applied Electromagnetics Group
Department of Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunication Engineering, and Naval Architecture

University of Genoa

Electromagnetic scattering

Remote Sensing and Electromagnetic Propagation
A.A. 2012-2013 Rev. 0 (draft 17032013!

University of Genoa

Title: Electromagnetic scattering

Course: Remote Sensing and
Electromagnetic Propagation

Rev.: A.A. 2012-2013 Rev. 0
(draft 17/03/2013)

Page: 2

Contents
Electromagnetic scattering 1
1. Introduction 3
2. Wave equation and its solution 4
3. Volumetric scattering by dielectric targets 5
3.1. Volumetric Equivalence Principle 6
4. Fundamental relationships of electromagnetic imaging 7
4.1. Born approximation 8
4.2. Two dimensional problems (tomographic assumption) 8
5. Discretization of scattering equations 10
5.1. Method of Moments (MoM) 10
5.2. Application of MoM to 2D scattering equations (OPTIONAL SECTION) 11

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1. Introduction
As it is well known, Maxwells equations can be expressed in the following local form

v D(r, t) = p(r, t)
v B(r, t) = u
v E(r, t) = -
B(r, t)
t

v H(r, t) = J(r, t) +
D(r, t)
t

(1)

where r denotes the position vector [m] and t the time [s]. E, B, H, and D are the vector fields
describing the electromagnetic field and are called the electric field [V/m], the magnetic flux density
[Wb/m
2
], the magnetic field [A/m], and the electric flux density [C/m
2
], respectively. The sources are
specified by the volume electric charge density p [C/m
3
] and by the electric current density J [A/m
2
].
When the time dependence is of cosinusoidal form (time-harmonic fields), a complex representation
for field vectors and sources can be used and the following local form of Maxwells equations for
time-harmonic fields can be deduced:

v D(r) = p(r)
v B(r) = u
v E(r) = -]B(r)
v H(r) = J(r) +]D(r)
(2)

where E, B, D, H, p, and J denote the complex vectors describing the vector fields and their sources.
Maxwells equations contain no information on the media wherein the electromagnetic phenomena
occur. This kind of information is provided by the constitutive equations, which relate the vector fields
E, B, D, and H, and are specific of the medium where the propagation takes place. For most
materials, the following relations hold true (linear isotropic media)

D(r) = e(r)E(r)
B(r) = p(r)H(r)
(3)

where e(r) denotes the dielectric permittivity of the medium and p(r) the magnetic permeability.
For instance, the vacuum is a linear isotropic medium described by the linear constitutive relations

D(r) = e
0
E(r)
B(r) = p
0
H(r)
(4)

where e
0
8.8S 1u
-12
Fm denotes the dielectric permittivity of the vacuum and p
0
4n1u
-7
Em
is the magnetic permeability of the vacuum. For characterizing a generic medium, often the following
relative values are used

e
(r) =
e(r)
e
0

p
(r) =
p(r)
p
0

(5)

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Another important property of media is the time dispersiveness, which is essentially related to
dynamics of matter polarization. In the frequency domain, time dispersiveness corresponds to
dielectric permittivities or magnetic permeabilities depending on the operating frequency and
complex valued.
Moreover, in conducting media, an induced current is generated by the field. For a wide category of
materials, the Ohms law holds, which states that the induced current density is given by

J
ohm
(r) = o(r)E(r) (6)

being o [S/m] the electric conductivity of the medium. Consequently, in the presence of a linear,
isotropic, and conducting medium, we can write

v H(r) = J
0
(r) +o(r)E(r) +]e
0
e
(r)E(r) = J
0
(r) +]e
0
_e
(r) -]
o(r)
e
0
_E(r) (7)

where J
0
is the impressed current density. If the effective dielectric permittivity

e(r) = e
0
_e
(r) -]
o(r)
e
0
_ = e
0
(e
i
(r) -]e
ii
(r)) = e
i
(r) -]e
ii
(r) (8)

is introduced, equation (7) can then be written as

v H(r) = J
0
(r) +]e(r)E(r) (9)

Accordingly, dispersive and conducting media can be treated in the same way, i.e., by using the
complex-valued dielectric permittivity defined by (8). Furthermore, in this way only the impressed
current J
0
explicitly appears in Maxwells equations.
2. Wave equation and its solution
Let us consider a homogeneous medium characterized by a dielectric permittivity e (possibly,
complex-valued) and a magnetic permeability p. From Maxwells equations one obtains

v v E(r) -
2
peE(r) = -]pJ
0
(r)
v v H(r) -
2
peH(r) = v J
0
(r)
(10)

These equations are called the vector wave equations and need suitable boundary conditions to be
solved. The proper conditions to be fulfilled when wave equations (10) need to be solved in an
unbounded medium, are the Silver-Mller radiation conditions.
Directly solving such equations is quite complex. Consequently, a two-step approach is usually
employed.
Maxwells equations imply the existence of two functions A e , called potentials, such that

B(r) = v A(r)
E(r) = -v(r) -]A(r)
(11)

Potentials A(r) and (r) are not unique. Usually they are chosen to satisfy the following condition,
called Lorenz gauge

v A(r) +]pe(r) = u (12)

Under such assumptions, the filed vector can be obtained by using only the vetor potential A.
By substituting the potentials A into the wave equations one obtains

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v v A(r) -
2
peA(r) = pJ
0
(r) (13)

Such equations can be solved by using the Greens function technique and its solution is given by

A(r) = -p _ J(r
i
)g(r, r
i
)Jr
i
v
(14)

where g is the Greens function of the propagation medium. For a tridimensional homogeneous and
unbounded space it is given by

g(r, r
i
) = -
1
4n
c
-]k|r-r
|
|
|r -r
i
|

(15)

Consequently, the vector potential is given by

A(r) = p _ J(r
i
)
c
-]k|r-r
|
|
4n|r -r
i
|
Jr
i
v
(16)

In the previous equations, the quantity k = e
0
p
0
is the wavenumber. The field vectors are finally
obtained by the vector potentials by suing the following transformation

E = -]A -]
1
pe
v(v A)
H =
1
p
v A
(17)

3. Volumetric scattering by dielectric targets
In the previous sections we recalled some basic concepts of radiation. When an object, which in this
context is also referred to as target or scatterer, is present in the propagation medium, the wave
produced by the source interacts with it and the field distribution is affected by the presence of the
scatterer.
In this context, let us assume the object to be characterized by a dielectric permittivity e(r) (possibily
complex) and p(r) = p
0
(non-magnetic materials are assumed) and immersed in a homogeneous
and infinite medium (free space scattering). Without loss of generality, the background medium is
assumed to be vacuum (in the following the subscript 0 denotes that the quantities are referred to
the vacuum).
The perturbed field (which is the only field that can be measured in the presence of the object) is
indicated by E
tot
. This field is clearly different from the field generated by the source when the object
in not present, which is usually indicated as the unperturbed or incident field and denoted by E
nc
.
The incident field is a known quantity if the source is completely characterized and it can be
computed everywhere by using relations (16) and (17). Moreover, we can write

E
scutt
(r) = E
tot
(r) -E
nc
(r) (18)

where the difference between the perturbed field (i.e., the field when the object is present) and the
unperturbed incident field (i.e., the field when the object is not present) is called the scattered field

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and can be ascribed to the presence of the object and, in particular, to the interaction between the
incident field and the object itself.
3.1. Volumetric Equivalence Principle
Similarly to the case of radiation in a homogeneous unbounded space, the total electric field can be
obtained by solving a wave equation, i.e.

v v E
tot
(r) -
2
p
0
e(r)E
tot
(r) = -]pJ
0
(r) (19)

However, since now the wavenumber k(r) = p
0
e(r) is space-dependent, the procedure
described in the previous section cannot be directly applied. We also assume that the source is not
modified by the target, i.e., the total electric field is generated by the same J
0
as those that produce
the incident electric field, i.e.,

v v E
nc
(r) -k
0
2
E
nc
(r) = -]pJ
0
(r) (20)

By subtracting (21) from (19), we obtain

v v (E
tot
(r) -E
nc
(r)) -k
2
(r)E
tot
(r) +k
0
2
E
nc
(r) = u (21)

By adding and subtracting the term k
0
2
E
tot
(r), equation (21) can be rewritten as

v v (E
tot
(r) -E
nc
(r)) -k
0
2
E
tot
(r) +k
0
2
E
nc
(r) = k
2
(r)E
tot
(r) -k
0
2
E
tot
(r) (22)

By recalling that E
scutt
(r) = E
tot
(r) -E
nc
(r), we obtain

v v E
scutt
(r) -k
0
2
E
scutt
(r) = (k
2
(r) -k
0
2
)E
tot
(r) (23)

By introducing the equivalent source

J
cq
(r) = -
1
]p
0
(k
2
(r) -k
0
2
)E
tot
(r) = ](e(r) -e
0
)E
tot
(r) (24)

equation (23) can be rewritten as

v v E
scutt
(r) -k
0
2
E
scutt
(r) = -]p
0
J
cq
(r) (25)

The scattered field can then be considered to be generated by an equivalent electric current density
radiating in free space. According to (24) such source has support coinciding with the space region
occupied by the object (since J
cq
(r) = u for r e I
ob]
).
Equation (25) express the volume equivalence theorem, which states that the field scattered by a
real object is the same as the field produced by the equivalent current density radiating in free space,
provided that such source is given by (24). As expected, it results that J
cq
depend upon the object
dielectric properties and the total internal field, which in turn depends on the incident field.
Usually the quantity

(r) = ](e(r) -e
0
) = ]e
0
c(r) (26)

is called object function or scattering potential (being c(r) = (e
(r) -1) the contrast function).

Equation (25) can be solved by using the potential approach. In particular, a scattered vector
potential A
scutt
can be defined as

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A
scutt
(r) = p
0
_ J
cq
(r
i
)
c
-]k
0
|r-r
|
|
4n|r -r
i
|
Jr
i
v
cb]
= p
0
_ (r
i
)E
tot
(r
i
)
c
-]k
0
|r-r
|
|
4n|r -r
i
|
Jr
i
v
cb]
(27)

Consequently, the scattered electric field can be obtained as

E
scutt
(r) = -]A
scutt
(r) -]
1
p
0
e
0
v(v A
scutt
(r))

(28)
4. Fundamental relationships of electromagnetic imaging
Two situations usually occur. In the first one, the object is completely known and one has to compute
the perturbed fields. This is called a direct scattering problem. For the above free space
configuration, the following quantities are assumed as known quantities in the direct scattering
problem: The incident field E
nc
(for any r inside and outside the object) and the distributions of the
dielectric parameters of the object e(r), r e I
ob]
. The aim is the computation of the scattered fields
E
scutt
everywhere. From these fields, one can immediately deduce the total fields E
tot
.
In the second situation, which is the case considered in this section, the object is unknown and one
has to deduce information about it on the basis of some measurements of the perturbed field
collected in general outside the object in a specified observation domain I
obs
(usually composed by
a discrete set of points). This is called an inverse scattering problem. For the considered free space
configuration, in the inverse scattering problem, the following quantities are still assumed known:
The incident field E
nc
(for any r inside and outside the object) and the total electric field E
tot

(obtained by suitable measurements) for r e I
obs
(in the following the measured values are donted
by the meas superscript). In this case, the objective of the computation is the definition of the object
support I
ob]
and the reconstruction of e(r), r e I
ob]
.
It is worth noting that, in most cases, the shape of the unknown object is itself a problem unknown.
Consequently, the integration domain in (27) is unknown. However, by recalling that J
cq
(r) = u for
r e I
ob]
, it is possible to define a known investigation domain (a test region) I
n
that includes the
support of the scatterer under test (i.e., I
ob]
e I
n
) and to extend the integration to I
ob]
.
Finally, the electromagnetic imaging problem can thus be formulated as the solution of the following
equation (called data equation) with respect to the unknown (r), r e I
n

E
tot
mcus
(r) = E
nc
(r) -]p
0
_ (r
i
)E
tot
(r
i
)
c
-]k
0
|r-r
|
|
4n|r -r
i
|
Jr
i
v
in
-]
1
e
0
v_v _ (r
i
)E
tot
(r
i
)
c
-]k
0
|r-r
|
|
4n|r -r
i
|
Jr
i
v
in
_, r e I
obs

(29)

It is worth noting that the total electric field inside the integrals is computed for r e I
n
. Consequently
E
tot
(r), r e I
n
, is a second unknown that must be retrieved (since measurements cannot be
performed inside the target). In order to solve the problem, the following second equation is usually
employed (called state equation)

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E
tot
(r) = E
nc
(r) -]p
0
_ (r
i
)E
tot
(r
i
)
c
-]k
0
|r-r
|
|
4n|r -r
i
|
Jr
i
v
in
-]
1
e
0
v_v _ (r
i
)E
tot
(r
i
)
c
-]k
0
|r-r
|
|
4n|r -r
i
|
Jr
i
v
in
_, r e I
n

(30)

Since the two unknown quantities are multiplied together, equations (29) and (30) give rise to a
nonlinear problem. Generally, such equations cannot be solved in a closed form. Consequently,
numerical methods are used to discretize them.
4.1. Born approximation
In some cases, information on the target under test are available. Consequently, approximations on
the model can be introduced. When the scatterer to be inspected is weak with respect to the
propagation medium, Born-type approximations can be used. The simplest approximation is the first
order Born approximation, which assumes that the scattered electric field inside the target can be
written only in terms of the incident field, i.e.,

E
tot
(r) E
nc
(r), r e I
n
(31)

Accordingly, we shall write

E
tot
mcus
(r) = E
nc
(r) -]p
0
_ (r
i
)E
nc
(r
i
)
c
-]k
0
|r-r
|
|
4n|r -r
i
|
Jr
i
v
in
-]
1
e
0
v_v _ (r
i
)E
nc
(r
i
)
c
-]k
0
|r-r
|
|
4n|r -r
i
|
Jr
i
v
in
_, r e I
obs

(32)

Consequently, the electromagnetic imaging equation become linear and the only unknown is the
object function.
Concerning the range of validity of the approximation, the following condition is usually applied: A
target is considered a weak scatterer if

o
z
sup
|r|<u
|c(r)| u.2S (33)

where o is the radius of the minimum sphere that can include the object and z is the wavelength.
4.2. Two dimensional problems (tomographic assumption)
The scattering formulation reported in the previous section concerns three-dimensional
configurations. In most practical cases, the object can be modeled as a cylinder of infinite extent
along some direction. Such assumption can be verified when dealing with targets with an elongate
shape with respect to the space region illuminated by the source. Under this assumption, the
electromagnetic imaging problem can be written in a simplified form.
Let us assume that the following conditions are satisfied:

1) The object is infinite along the direction z;
2) The dielectric properties are independent from the z coordinate, i.e.,

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e
(r) = e
(x, y) (34)

3) The incident field is z-polarized and uniform along z (transverse magnetic incident field
[TMz]), i.e.,

E
nc
(r) = E
nc
z
(x, y)z (35)

Under such assumptions, for symmetry reasons both the scattered electric field and the total electric
field turn out to be independent of z and z-polarized, i.e.,

E
scutt
(r) = E
scutt
z
(x, y)z
E
tot
(r) = E
tot
z
(x, y)z
(36)

Since now all is independent from the coordinate z, the investigation domain reduces to a planar
surface
n
containing the cross section of the cylinder. Moreover, the measurements are performed
in a planar (or linear) observation domain
obs
located on the transverse plane,
Consequently, the data equation can be written as

E
tot
z
mcus
(x, y) = E
nc
z
(x, y) -]p
0
_ (x
i
, y
i
)E
tot
z
(x
i
, y
i
)
c
-]k
0
|r-r
|
|
4n|r -r
i
|
Jr
i
v
in
, (x, y) e
obs
(37)

where the term v(v ) vanishes since no depolarization of the incident field is present. By splitting
the integral in the transversal and longitudinal parts, it follows

E
tot
z
mcus
(x, y) = E
nc
z
(x, y)
-]p
0
_ (x
i
, y
i
)E
tot
z
(x
i
, y
i
) _
c
-]k
0
|r-r
|
|
4n|r -r
i
|
Jz
i
z=+
z=-
Jx
i
Jy
i
in
, (x, y)
e
obs

(38)

Moreover, the following relation holds

_
c
-]k
0
|r-r
|
|
4n|r -r
i
|
Jz
i
z=+
z=-
=
]
4
E
0
(2)
(k
0
p)
(39)

where E
0
(2)
is the zeroth order and second kind Hankel function and p = (x -x
i
)
2
+(y -y
i
)
2
.
Finally, it results

E
tot
z
mcus
(x, y) = E
nc
z
(x, y) -]p
0
_ (x
i
, y
i
)E
tot
z
(x
i
, y
i
)
]
4
E
0
(2)
(k
0
p)Jx
i
Jy
i
=
in
E
nc
z
(x, y)
+]p
0
_ (x
i
, y
i
)E
tot
z
(x
i
, y
i
)g
2
(x, y, x
i
, y
i
)Jx
i
Jy
i
in
, (x, y) e
obs

(40)

The function g
2
(x, y, x
i
, y
i
) = -
]
4
E
0
(2)
(k
0
p) is the Greens function for the two-dimensional problem.
A similar expression is obtained for the state equation, i.e.,

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E
tot
z
(x, y) = E
nc
z
(x, y) +]p
0
_ (x
i
, y
i
)E
tot
z
(x
i
, y
i
)g
2
(x, y, x
i
, y
i
)Jx
i
Jy
i
in
, (x, y)
e
n

(41)

Consequently, under the tomographic assumption, the imaging problem becomes scalar and two
dimensional.
5. Discretization of scattering equations
As previously introduced, the scattering equations cannot be solved in a closed form. Consequently,
they must be discretized in order to use numerical methods. An often employed approach to perform
this task is the Method of Moments.
5.1. Method of Moments (MoM)
Let us consider a linear functional equation

L() = g (42)

where L is a linear operator, g is known function, and is the unknown function to be retrieved.
The Method of Moments works as follows.

1. The unknown function is expanded on a set of known basis functions
n
, n = 1, ., N, i.e.,

= o
n
n
N
n=1
(43)

where o
n
, n = 1, ., N, are unknown coefficients.
2. Inserting (43) in (42), one obtains

L _o
n
n
N
n=1
_ = o
n
L(
n
)
N
n=1
= g (44)

3. A set of H known test functions w
m
, m = 1, ., H, is defined.
4. An inner product (u, :) with the following properties is defined.

a. (u, :) = (:, u)
b. (u, o
1
:
1
+o
2
:
2
) = o
1
(u, :
1
) +o
2
(u, :
2
)
c. (u, u) u con (u, u) = u u = u

5. By applying the inner product (with the test functions) to (44) one obtains

(L_ o
n
n
N
n=1
_, w
m
) = o
n
(L(
n
), w
m
)
N
n=1
=(g, w
m
), m = 1, ., H (45)

The quantities
mn
= (L(
n
), w
m
) and g
m
= (g, w
m
) are known. Consequently, (45) can
be rewritten as

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o
n
mn
N
n=1
= g
m
, m = 1, ., H (46)

Equation (46) is an algebraic system of H equations in N unknwon. It can be ewritten in
matrix form as

H = (47)

where H =
mn
m=1,.,,n=1,.,N
, = o
1
, ., o
N
t
, and = g
1
, ., g
t
.

Consequently, MoM transform the functional equation (42) in an algebraic equation whose unknowns
are the coefficients that multiply the basis functions used for expanding .
5.2. Application of MoM to 2D scattering equations (OPTIONAL SECTION)
The method of moments can be used to discretize the scattering equations. Let us consider the data
equation

E
tot
z
mcus
(x, y) = E
nc
z
(x, y) +]p
0
_
cq
z
(x
i
, y
i
) -
]
4
E
0
(2)
(k
0
p)Jx
i
Jy
i
in
, (x, y) e
s
(48)

The investigation area is discretized in N subdomains
n
, n = 1, ., N, and the basis functions are
defined as

n
(x, y) =
1 sc (x, y) e
n
u sc (x, y) e
n
(49)

The equivalent current density
cq
z
is then expressed as

cq
z
(x, y) = ]
n
n
(x, y)
N
N=1
(50)

The test functions are

w
m
(x, y) = (x -x
n
, y -y
n
) (51)

where (x
m
, y
m
) is mth measurement point.
The inner product is defined as

(u, :) = _ u(x, y):
(x, y)JxJy
(52)

By applying the MoM to the data equation we obtain

University of Genoa



Rev.: A.A. 2012-2013 Rev. 0
(draft 17/03/2013)

Page: 12

E
tot
z
mcus
(x, y) = E
nc
z
(x, y) +
p
0
4
_ ]
n
n
(x
i
, y
i
)
N
n=1
(x
i
, y
i
)E
0
(2)
(k
0
p)Jx
i
Jy
i
in
= E
nc
z
(x, y) +
p
0
4
]
n
_
n
(x
i
, y
i
)E
0
(2)
(k
0
p)Jx
i
Jy
i
in
N
n=1
=
= E
nc
z
(x, y) +
p
0
4
]
n
_ E
0
(2)
(k
0
p)Jx
i
Jy
i
n
N
n=1

(53)

Moreover

(E
tot
z
mcus
(x, y), (x -x
m
, y -y
m
)) = E
tot
z
mcus
(x
m
, y
m
)
= (E
nc
z
(x, y), (x -x
m
, y -y
m
))
+
p
0
4
c
n
n
_ (E
0
(2)
(k
0
p), (x -x
n
, y -y
n
)) Jx
i
Jy
i
n
N
n=1
= E
m
nc
+ c
n
mn
N
n=1
, m = 1, ., N
(54)

where E
m
tot,mcus
= E
tot
z
mcus
(x
m
, y
m
) is the measured total electric field in the mth measurement point,
E
m
nc
= E
nc
z
(x
m
, y
m
) is the incident electric field in the mth measurement point, and
mn
=
0
4
E
0
(2)
(k
0
p
m
)Jx
i
Jy
i
n
, being p
m
= p = (x
m
-x
i
)
2
+(y
m
-y
i
)
2
.
Equation (54) can be written in matrix form as

tot
mcus
=
nc
+H
utu
(55)

where
tot
mcus
is an array containing the values of the measured field in the observation points,
nc
is
an array containing the values of the incident electric field in the measurement points, and H is a
matrix containing the integrals of the Hankel function.
Moreover, since
cq
z
(x, y) = (x, y)E
tot
z
(x, y), we can define

]
n
=
n
E
tot
z
n

(56)

Consequently, we have = ()
tot
, being and
tot
arrays containing the values of the object
function and the total electric field in the subdomains and diag() an operator transforming an array
into a diagonal matrix.
Equation (55) can now be rewritten as

tot
mcus
=
nc
+H
utu
()
tot
(57)

An analogous expression can be obtained for the state equation in a similar way.

RSEP Part I EM Scattering

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RSEP Part I EM Scattering

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Applied Electromagnetics Group

Department of Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunication Engineering, and Naval Architecture

(r) -1) the contrast function).

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