Exact solution of Maxwell's equations for optical interactions with a macroscopic random medium. Academic Article

abstract

• We report what we believe to be the first rigorous numerical solution of the two-dimensional Maxwell equations for optical propagation within, and scattering by, a random medium of macroscopic dimensions. Our solution is based on the pseudospectral time-domain technique, which provides essentially exact results for electromagnetic field spatial modes sampled at the Nyquist rate or better. The results point toward the emerging feasibility of direct, exact Maxwell equations modeling of light propagation through many millimeters of biological tissues. More generally, our results have a wider implication: Namely, the study of electromagnetic wave propagation within random media is moving toward exact rather than approximate solutions of Maxwell's equations.

authors

• Maitland, Duncan

published proceedings

• Opt Lett

author list (cited authors)

• Tseng, S. H., Greene, J. H., Taflove, A., Maitland, D., Backman, V., & Walsh, J. T.

citation count

• 22

complete list of authors

• Tseng, Snow H||Greene, Jethro H||Taflove, Allen||Maitland, Duncan||Backman, Vadim||Walsh, Joseph T

publication date

• January 2004

publisher

• Optica Publishing Group  Publisher

published in

• Optics Letters  Journal

keywords

• Computer Simulation
• Connective Tissue
• Electromagnetic Fields
• Models, Biological
• Models, Statistical
• Scattering, Radiation
• Tomography, Optical Coherence

PubMed Central ID

• 15233446

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

• 10.1364/ol.29.001393

start page

• 1393

end page

• 1395

volume

• 29

issue

• 12

URL

• http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/ol.29.001393