Electromagnetic Waves in Stratified

Medium – Fall 2022

Institution: Diablo Valley College

Course: PHYS – 120 General College Physics

1

Instructor: Crowder Kurt

Author: Chris Cana

Lecture note: Electromagnetic waves in

stratified medium

In developing the equation for wave propagation through a stratified medium, it is

important to consider the nature of that stratification. Possible forms of stratifications
include planar stratification, characteristic matrix, and a stack of discrete layers (Born &
Wolf, 2013). For planar stratification and the propagation of light through this medium,
one assumption is that a linearly polarized electromagnetic wave (such as light) travels
through it. Because the wave is linearly polarized, it is a transverse (TE) electric wave.

Figure 1: Cartesian stratification geometry and TE

wave.

From Figure 1 above, the assumption is that an electromagnetic wave with a y-axis
linear polarization is propagating through the medium. As seen in the picture, H is in the
xz incidence plane alongside the S pointing vector, while E remains parallel to the y-
axis. The y-direction invariant wave’s incidence angle is φ. Because the medium is
stratified, a constant refraction index’s planar surface is perpendicular to the x-axis.
Regarding their extent, the surfaces are infinite and parallel to the yz-plane. Therefore, it
would be adequate for one to consider TE’s case and its xz-plane propagation as the
starting point for the comprehension of the movement of electromagnetic waves through
a stratified medium.

Notably, there are many reasons for analyzing the transverse electric case as the
starting point. The resulting equations are simpler for TE waves through a medium
where µ ≡ 1 than for the transverse magnetic (TM) waves involving the same medium.
Obtaining results that are adequate for the transverse magnetic (TM) case requires the
utilization of a mathematical description of the H, which is obtained from treating the TE
case and combining it with Maxwell equation’s symmetry property. The noteworthy point
is that Maxwell’s equations remain unchanged even with the simultaneous exchange of
field vectors and their medium parameters according to the transformation. If from the
TE case, one derives the value of H, then they can obtain E for the TM case.
In a planar wave’s plane of incidence (i.e., the xz-plane) for a TE wave, the curl
equation is Ex = E2 = 0. In Maxwell’s equation for a TE harmonic wave, the curl
relationship gives:

Where Hy≡ 0 and Hx, H2, and Ey are functions of x and z only. From the equations above,
the TE case’s electric field’s time-independent component must satisfy the Helmholtz
equation given by:

We the technique for variable separation, one can set

as a trial solution. Then,

becomes:

Where the left side of the equation above is an x only function while the one on the right
is a z only function. The assumption holds only when both the right and left sides of the
equation above are constant. As such;

Since the solution for Z(z) is given by

, then the z direction’s wave’s time-independent component’s phase accumulation rate

is given by kn0, and is invariant for a particular wave. Assuming, without generality’s
loss, that the wave is moving rightwards from left, i.e., in positive z’s direction, one can
adopt the positive sign in

, allowing the derivation of the harmonic wave’s electric field by:

From Maxwell’s equation

, the expression of the components of the magnetic field is

in terms of x’s different functions but z and t’s similar functions, given by:

Another condition needed for the wave function to hold is that the U, W, and V functions
satisfy specific requirements among themselves. From equations
 ,

, and

, these conditions are given by:

If one eliminates W, they get, for U and V, first-order differential equations’ coupled
system given by

and

. It is possible to convert these two systems into two independent second-order

differential equations. For the TM case,

, the transformation
yields

It is notable that for the TE case, U, W, and V are complex. Thus, from

, one can define the cophasal surface (a surface for E’s constant phase) by

, where ψ(x) is U(x)’s phase. The angle of incidence (φ) that the
cophasal surface has with plane yz in Figure 1 is given by

. in special cases when the electromagnetic wave remains planar, then

From this, it follows that the constant in

is also equivalent to n0 = nsinφ = constant, which is Snell’s law. Thus, one can consider
the condition from the solution to

is Snell’s law generalization. The turning point for the wave is given by the value n0,
which remains related to Figure 1’s 0th layer’s index of refraction and the layers in which
φ = π/2; the wave’s turning point.

For the TM case, consider an electromagnetic wave hitting a nonmagnetic planar

stratification from a medium of index n1. The local value of the refractive index of the
stratified planar surface is given by the dielectric function ∈(z) = n2(z)[(z). Given an
isotropic medium with scalar (not tensor) dielectric function, one can write any plane
wave as a transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) waves superposition
(TE is also called the s wave and TM the p wave). The s wave’s electric vector is
perpendicular to the incidence plane and p wave’s electric vector is perpendicular to the
incidence plane. Assuming medium stratification in direction z, such that ∈ = ∈(z), and
given that the incidence plane is (z,x), then the electric field vector of the s wave is E =
(0, Ey, 0) and the magnetic field vector of p wave is B = (0, By, 0). From the curl equation
by Maxwell, it follows that, if ω is the angular velocity, then:

Where K is a separation-of-variables constant implying Snell’s law. Notably, K’s

existence derives from the stratification’s planar nature. Both the E(z) and B(z) functions
fulfill the ordinary differential equations:

Where q(z) is the wave vector’s nominal component’s local value given by:

Assuming that the incidence angle is 01, then:

Where 02 is the angle between the wave vector and the normal in the homogenous
substrate of index n2. Notably, from the foregoing, dE/dz and

remain continuous where ∈(z) has any discontinuity. If this was not true, delta function
terms would become available in the second derivative of

. E and B are a fortiori continuous at any ∈(z)

discontinuity.
If a stratification extends from z = a to z = b, bounded by the homogeneous
indices n1 and n2 , and if ∈(z) is initially continuous for a<z<b, and if F(z) and G(z)

are s wave’s two linearly independent solutions of the differential equation

Electromagnetic Wave Propagation in the Stratified Medium

, then one may write E(z) as F and G’s linear superposition as: E(z) = f F(z) + g G(z) where f and g are
constants. The approach has proven useful in calculating light propagation through a thin film with
Cartesian stratification.

In the ordinary approach to the examination of light propagation through thin film, individuals initially
treat the stratified medium as a multilayered one. Here, one must hold constant the index of refraction
within each layer, although changes across boundaries are permissible by some finite number multiplied
by the layer’s thickness. Notably, the finite number may correspond to the neighboring layer’s average
gradient. However, things appear different within each layer because one can solve the wave equations
using sinusoid functions. Maxwell equation’s continuity conditions enable one to connect solutions from
adjacent layers together and across their boundaries. After that, one can drive each layer’s maximum
thickness to zero, allowing the layers’ number to expand indefinitely such that the medium’s total
thickness remains unchanged. From the ensemble of answers, the resulting estimate one can give an
accurate description of the electromagnetic field propagating through the medium, provided that the
“thin atmosphere” condition is true and the wave does not experience a turning point.