Bridging the gap between the Babinet principle and the physical optics approximation: Vectorial problem

摘要

For a three-dimensional problem and by assuming perfectly electric conducting objects, this paper shows that the Babinet principle (BP) can be derived from the physical optics (PO) approximation. Indeed, following the same idea as Ufimtsev, from the PO approximation and in the far-field zone, the field scattered by an object can be split up into a field which mainly contributes around the specular direction (illuminated zone) and a field which mainly contributes around the forward direction (shadowed zone), which is strongly related to the scattered field obtained from the BP. The only difference resides in the integration surface. We show mathematically that the involved integral does not depend on the shape of the object but only on its contour. Simulations are provided to illustrate the link between BP and PO. The main gain of this work is that it provides a more complete physical insight into the connection between PO and BP.