The Combined Method of Ray Tracing and Diffraction and Its Application to Ultra-wideband Pulse Propagation

In this study the scattered-filed computation using the combined method of ray tracing and diffraction (CMRD) is revisited but with an extension to the backscattering computation. The concept of the equivalent phase object is considered as the key part in the developed CMRD method, and is analyzed mathematically with accurately derived expressions for its amplitude and phase function. A formulated CMRD method for the backscattering computation is developed in this work, which is then used in the forward modeling and numerical computations for ultra-wideband pulse propagation and backscattering from a perfectly conducting circular cylinder. The numerical simulation indicates that reasonable and good agreements can be achieved for comparisons between our CMRD method and exact eigenfunction expansion approach. It is expected that the theoretical model and method of backscattering calculation using CMRD can be applied to the image processing and target identification with measurements of backward-scattered electromagnetic and acoustic waves.